Virgin America hangs as its hedge fund owners get antsy

[metroplex]

by the way ual driver. check out the pay for UAL six year cpt and VA six year capt on the airbus. see that? Also, if ual would be a start up their labor costs would be extremely low. take a look at your first year pay. stop crying me a river. When you guys very in bankruptcy you had fares that low that nobody could compete, because you were not paying the creditors.. That's easy to do.....

 

[Fubijaakr]

can't believe that ALPA is with Alaska on this. I think that 90% of Virgins pilots are furloughed Alpa members..

Furloghed ALPA members who voluntarily went to work for a non-Union carrier who offers substandard wages.

And ALPA pilots are supposed to support that?

 

[mvedepo]

Furloghed ALPA members who voluntarily went to work for a non-Union carrier who offers substandard wages.

And ALPA pilots are supposed to support that?

Do you really think that those furloughed voluntarily did anything? They lost their jobs.

 

[Grandpa +65]

Branson is a smart guy. Virgin America is subsidized by his European business empire. You can mass produce music CDs for maybe .25 cents each and sell them retail for $15 or even $18. The profits are hidden in airline losses. Hard for an American airline to compete with that.

 

[Green Banana]

Ya, great product, but at what price? They have shown that they have to charge 150% of that they do to break even. So is the service worth that? If so, Why are they not charging that price?

 

[cmrflyer]

Hey Grandpa, Branson sold virign records to EMI back in '92, so how CD sales have anything to do with the funding of VA is beyond me.

 

[Fubijaakr]

Do you really think that those furloughed voluntarily did anything? They lost their jobs.

No one forced them to go interview with Virgin. So, yes, they VOLUNTARILY sought and accepted employment with a non-Union carrier that pays substandard wages/benefits.

Why they think they are entitled to UNION negotiated privileges is beyond me.

 

[metroplex]

fubijakaar, I don't know, you might have been in a position to not have to look for work... good for you. the day you loose your job you probably come crawling for a job at VA.

 

[mvedepo]

No one forced them to go interview with Virgin. So, yes, they VOLUNTARILY sought and accepted employment with a non-Union carrier that pays substandard wages/benefits.

Why they think they are entitled to UNION negotiated privileges is beyond me.

I am interested what you would do if you were put out tomorrow? I can tell you that the Aloha, ATA, and ABX guys we have here now are extremely happy to be here.

 

[Britpilot]

I guess they have shown that their product is unsustainable at the price they charge for a ticket. So where does that leave them?