Virgin Australia cuts lounges, points, upgrades on partner airlines

Hot water for your noodles cup may be extra

Hear Qantas are about to make changes to its frequent flyer scheme.

Feel it will be on the same lines.

You may want to get used to being asked “sweet or savoury”

Lounges will be empty because a) fewer will fly and b) status will be elusive for many and c) those that have to pay for the club won’t get their business to do so.  

I know the recent Qatar status match is a different kettle of fish esp with domestic travel when QF metal is involved but I would have thought QF would still consider any inquiries or request for a status match from VA Plat with the right mix of itinerary to show from 2019. I think ET did a feature in June 2020 as Qantas Tier Accelerator 

Although no guarantee of matching as opposed to an official status match promotion, it beats waiting for one that may never come in time. 

Of course you will have to ask them to extend the qualifying earning period to 12 months rather than 3 month unless you have a lot of domestic QF flights coming up, since the usual way of quickly earning these status credit by transcontinental return trip under QF metal is not available 

Not sure why they would offer a status match, when there is no competition?

A truer word has never been spoken, but they will likely be seduced by the notion.  REX offering a status match would be very interesting, so long as there is something to get excited about with their offering after our first ‘novelty’ flight. 

Correct me if I’m wrong but Rex don’t have a frequent flyer programme or status levels. They have a frequent business flyer programme with one FF number for all employees offering a free sector after a certain number of flights. They currently don’t even have a business class. Finally there is only paid lounge membership options. 

QF don't need to offer a status match, they effectively have a monopoly on J class and the business traveller market shortly. 

Yes I also seen that news 

Scurrah is instrumental in keeping the employees on side as one of the biggest creditors in the administration but now that Bain has full control they probably decided they don’t want to partake in Scurrah’s vision of the new Virgin.

Mind you I though at least he would have lasted at least 6-12 months on the job until a working operational network is in place when borders restrictions eased, but this rapid dumping suggest Bain may have a vastly different vision of the new VA from what is articulated publicly by Scurrah and may show its claws within the next 3 months.

Bain may very well validate some previous suggestions of corporate raider and asset stripping.

Oh dear, looks like our VA detractors/supporter online discussion over the future of VA hasn’t really fizzled out yet

How is this relevant?

I am not sure it is the governments job to step in and help a private company make more money

Don’t forget virgin is the national airline of QUEENSLAND. 

Step up how, exactly? What do you want the government to do? 

VA is a private company that has received some government support financially since March (reduction in charges + underwriting some repatriation flights). The Queensland Government has also bought a small share of the airline for $200 million.

I wouldn’t call 1/5th of a billion dollars a small stake in an airline whose future is very uncertain. 

The government's role is to foster competition in Australia's economy and prevent market failures. I don't see this as meaning provision of subsidies for a private or listed company, but rather to create an environment where competition occurs or better still, flourishes. There's all sorts of mechanisms for this that the government could apply, as readers would know. Having only one full service airline operating domestically would be market failure, as it would hand the incumbent a monopoly. We all saw the impact of that the last time there was no competition in the full service segment. For example, options COULD include allowing ICAO ninth freedom rights to non Australian-based airlines. 

Well what I should have said; As the government has done with Victoria and rescinded the Chinese Belt and Roads money deals they should rescind the VA take over by Bain if they don't do as they spruiked.

I can read Captain AJ's mind.  He'll wait for the day JH takes the reigns at Virgin and then LOUDLY announce the grandest Status Swap deal in the history of aviation in this country, conditional upon surrender of Virgin gold/platinum cards to Qantas.  

By the end of that week there will be no Gold/Platinum flyers in VFF and a big box of cards will land on Jayne's desk (after all, the cards remain the property of VFF and he'd merely be returning them).  Ouch!  

Not at all 'bitchy' of AJ, just 'business'.  I've always said that if nothing he's one cunning operator (and Richard Branson would do the same in a similar position).  He's not paid the big bucks just for his good looks.

AJ was asked to stay with QF until 2022 and that was in 2019

Given the likely impact of the pandemic on airline industry beyond 2021, I think they will ask him to stay beyond 2022.

Like it or not (esp QF employees), AJ is probably the person QF needs at this time to reduce costs and plan for return of full operational capacity while offloading some aspects of their workforce to rely on contractors. The trick is to make sure the contractors remain compliant to training and security requirements (as the Victorian quarantine security guard contractor fiasco and the NSW Health ancillary service contractors experience exposed) which will be the main difference (and disadvantage) compared to in-house services, where they can directly control hiring practices.

Boeing, 

That started on Thursday key Club members are already negotiating the move

Why do you keep posting this on every Virgin Australia article? Especially when there is ZERO mention of Star Alliance in them? Is this your new 'so called savior SQ' rant?