Former Qantas executive John Borghetti wins top job at Virgin Blue

[Mal]

I'm sure John still has strong ties with the current QF board.

Do his share options or DJ pay more dividends.....

If QF were to get a mole inside DJ, you know.......say the CEO.... it could be an easy way to eliminate a competitor.

........ just saying....

Hmm... lots of flawed logic there! Besides, he may be asked to dispose of any QF shares as part of his employment.

I think the real risk is to QF. Here is a guy who knows them inside out and worked there for 36 years, but now is the head guy at one of their biggest competitors. Sure he had a ~12 month break (perhaps due to a non-compete clause), but the knowledge he would have about Jetstar and Qantas is immense.

 

[Travel Guru]

Hmm... lots of flawed logic there! Besides, he may be asked to dispose of any QF shares as part of his employment.

I think the real risk is to QF. Here is a guy who knows them inside out and worked there for 36 years, but now is the head guy at one of their biggest competitors. Sure he had a ~12 month break (perhaps due to a non-compete clause), but the knowledge he would have about Jetstar and Qantas is immense.

I have to agree, aside from the obvious ill feeling for passing him up on a job that IMHO should have been his at QF, John (and without knowing him personally im merely speculating) has always come across as someone with a good moral compass.

If I were QF i'd be very worried right now.

TG

 

[anat0l]

I think the real risk is to QF. Here is a guy who knows them inside out and worked there for 36 years, but now is the head guy at one of their biggest competitors. Sure he had a ~12 month break (perhaps due to a non-compete clause), but the knowledge he would have about Jetstar and Qantas is immense.

If I were QF i'd be very worried right now.

I hope you two are right, although does this mean DJ will lift to the level of QF, or DJ will be Qantas-ised? Just kidding on the last one, and subtly different on the first one.

As I said before, I'm really hoping this will incite QF to do something very different for the benefit of its customers.

 

[Flying Fox]

I think the real risk is to QF. Here is a guy who knows them inside out and worked there for 36 years, but now is the head guy at one of their biggest competitors. Sure he had a ~12 month break (perhaps due to a non-compete clause), but the knowledge he would have about Jetstar and Qantas is immense.

Totally agree. DJ employed a QF 'mole' - well not really but someone who has intimate knowledge of the opposition (not just their current business but more importantly QF's longer term strategies).

 

[aus_flyer]

I truly think John will give Qantas a run for their money. His knowledge of Qantas would be second to none and he truly understands the Australian market and the wants and needs of Australian travellers. Something I think his Irish counterpart at QF simply does not.

And, in my very humble opinion and observation, it was John that dragged Qantas into the 21st century and made their soft and hard product truly competitive on a world scale*.

*Others may say it's not, but I believe that for a 100% privatised airline, it is.

I am truly excited by this announcement. I think being the CEO of an airline is long overdue for John Borghetti.

On a different note, how long before Qantas remove all the vidoes with JB off their YouTube channel?

 

[Gold Member]

Today's AFR has an article in which Sir Richard Branson mentions that he sees VB going upper market ala VX which uses an alternate model. Now if VB got VX First Class (Dom biz) seating I would question my loyalty to QF for domestic travel.

 

[harvyk]

Today's AFR has an article in which Sir Richard Branson mentions that he sees VB going upper market ala VX which uses an alternate model. Now if VB got VX First Class (Dom biz) seating I would question my loyalty to QF for domestic travel.

I don't think that they would call it First class. I think that term (and the class) will be retired, and then in a few years time when no one has a first class service a marketing guru will think to bring it back.

 

[dajop]

I don't think that they would call it First class. I think that term (and the class) will be retired, and then in a few years time when no one has a first class service a marketing guru will think to bring it back.

You are right - I don't think there is a place for first class in the Australian domestic market, that doesn't mean they can't have the same set up as Virgin America (VX) does - just call it what it is, business class.

But I don't see the first class term being retired, even QF who are axing it on many routes are keeping it on several. Reasons:
1)In the US it part of flying domestically - as VX does - you are either coach or first (apart from specific transcons routes/flights, which have different product altogether more akin to international). Of course QF status chasers are more than happy with the situation, even though in reality on most aircraft on most airlines on domestic travel First is really no better than (and in some instances worse than) what we would call business class in Australia.
2) In some cultures, people who have the money will travel first to flaunt the fact they have money.
3) The celeb and DYKWIA markets, especially on some routes.

 

[anat0l]

You are right - I don't think there is a place for first class in the Australian domestic market, that doesn't mean they can't have the same set up as Virgin America (VX) does - just call it what it is, business class.

Well the other way out is to not call it Business class but instead call it something else, viz. VS's Upper Class (which claims also to be a class above traditional business class cabins). Just like JQ's Star Class (except without the stupidity of admitting that it's supposed to be their "Business" class when it doesn't stack up well against other J's around the world).

But I don't see the first class term being retired, even QF who are axing it on many routes are keeping it on several. Reasons:...

I don't think there are enough DYKWIAs, celebs, overpaid/corrupt politicians and members of haydensydney's Facebook group alone to sustain F routes. It'd be sad to see QF F go, but if they're going to keep it stop doing a half-a**ed job and at least put out a decent number of seats with a much better product, for heaven's sake.

 

[Flying Fox]

Well the other way out is to not call it Business class but instead call it something else, viz. VS's Upper Class (which claims also to be a class above traditional business class cabins). Just like JQ's Star Class (except without the stupidity of admitting that it's supposed to be their "Business" class when it doesn't stack up well against other J's around the world).

If I remember correctly, when Ansett was getting rid of F domestically and upgrade J, I think that they called it BusinessFirst or similar.

 

[harvyk]

If I remember correctly, when Ansett was getting rid of F domestically and upgrade J, I think that they called it BusinessFirst or similar.

Sure was, but that didn't last long until the name First got dropped.

 

[serfty]

If I remember correctly, when Ansett was getting rid of F domestically and upgrade J, I think that they called it BusinessFirst or similar.

Sure was, but that didn't last long until the name First got dropped.

Both Qantas and Ansett did this in conjunction - the First bit was very quietly dropped 6-9 months later.

 

[Flying Fox]

Both Qantas and Ansett did this in conjunction - the First bit was very quietly dropped 6-9 months later.

Oh I didn't realise that QF did this too.

 

[DJGuy]

I just really hope what everyone is saying will be true - that JB will understand what is needed in Australia and that he will undertake a product change particularly inflight and provide another alternative for full service travel in economy in Australia!

Oh, and a new uniform? Surely this will happen!! Godfrey liked his uniforms and didn't want them changed, surely new leader, new direction of company, a new uniform is deserved!?

Hopefully JB can drum out some of the immaturity of the crew too and quash this 'virgin flair' for good, jokes on the PA and during the demo etc wont be appreciated by these corporate pax they're trying to steal from QF.

 

[stuartfaz]

I'll throw my prediction in on this one (I was scary accurate with my QF TT prediction).

I'll have a ping here too.

1. DJ will change their name to V Australia, dropping the virgin blue name as that's associated with the LCC.

I don't see them dropping the Virgin name altogether. I think we might see all 4 branded under a 'Virgin Pacific' moniker or something similar. Of course, if SQ stands firm with their no use of the Virgin name then V Australia's stocks rise as an alternative.

I have noticed that they're pushing the brand name out there a lot more. Velocity is now known as 'V Australia and Virgin Blue's FFP', for example.

2. DJ will introduce a J class on domestic and TT flights, maybe keep PE at the same time bringing in 3 class dom services again.

I think, for DJs sake, PE needs to become J, rather than having both. There's very little value in PE for what it is now.

3

. DJ will start providing meals over standard meal hours on flights over a certain length (same as QF)

Possibility. I can see this happening with the 'traditional economy' they're trying to introduce, but maybe not across the board.

4. DJ will bring in wide bodies for the routes of SYD - MEL - PER (maybe BNE?) they will probably include in seat power.

Yep.

5. DJ will start providing Live 2 Air for free.

Yep.

These won't happen all at once, and I doubt this will happen in this order, but I expect DJ will be a very different airline in a few years time. DJ want to compete with QF as that's where the money is, not TT and JQ.

Agreed, but they won't want to abandon that market completely. It will be interesting, as a very loyal DJ flyer, to see what happens next.