The only reason Virgin launched this route after restructuring was to prevent Qantas getting the additional slot at Haneda that was available to Australian carriers. Without a widebody aircraft and a flight into a state capital, it was destined to fail from the get go.

When you see the difference in size of the 747 engines next to the new 777x engines. I wonder if with the use of lighter composite materials the queen of the skies could be reimagined as a twin engine plane.

Borghetti's ego and desire to compete against Qantas has a lot to answer for but their biggest downfall has been their continuation in the international market. Just look at the destinations that have been and gone, Jo'burg, Abu Dhabi, Hong Kong. Even LA has been an on again off again affair. Now...

With the exception of Hong Kong, I don't see how people can claim to be "stuck" in these destinations. Qatar are still running flights from several european cities, AirNZ still covers the Tasman and United are flying from SFO to Sydney.

If these cuts are all due to COVID-19, it's odd that some don't take affect until May or July when the Tokyo reduction is currently only in place until May 3. Seems like a great excuse to withdraw services that were already under performing.