Virgin Australia, Star Alliance and Skyteam.

[dzinh]

Between *A and Skyteam who would you guys prefer VA to join?



I would preferably like to see VA sway to the left side.

 

[lovestotravel]

* Alliance

 

[moa999]

Neither will happen.
Virgin is happy to sit in the middle and have relationships with the carriers from both alliances that benefit it most, as well as the unaligned Etihad.

Just think if Virgin went to SkyTeam then probably half the traffic it presently gets from AirNZ/ Singapore would go to Qantas, lest to mention the ownership issues.

 

[smit0847]

Agree neither will happen. They're like EK - they link up with airlines that are advantageous to them but don't want to be bound by the conditions of those who are not.

JB hinted that if they were to join an alliance it would probably be ST not *A. I cannot think why any carrier who would be accepted into *A would want to join ST instead - I thought ST was the alliance you joined if OW and *A rejected you.

Would expect a HUGE Australian public backlash if VA joined ST as suddenly the earn and burn opportunities with SQ, NZ, VX, VS and EY vanish. Yes they would have far more routes and options but they're generally with carriers Australians dont want to fly with (like DL).

 

[dajop]

You're missing an option. Blue globe, with white lower case writing through the middle.

 

[smit0847]

You're missing an option. Blue globe, with white lower case writing through the middle.

They would need an older brother to Quit First before that would be an option....

 

[Fruitcake]

You're missing an option. Blue globe, with white lower case writing through the middle.

If you thought QF's earning table for MH looked bad, imagine their earning table for VA .

 

[dajop]

They would need an older brother to Quit First before that would be an option....

12 months ago no-one would have even contemplated that. But these days, you nevEr Know.

 

[smit0847]

I think there's as much chance of VA joining *A as there is QF leaving OW.

 

[Supersonic Swinger]

I think Virgin is fairly happy with their current arrangements, joining an alliance is no longer an end game for an airline - alliance membership hasn't been the panacea for what ails an airline's business. To quote Steven Ridgway (ex-CEO of Virgin Atlantic) from yesterday's AFR in relation to the Qantas-Emirates hook-up: "You will get these very pragmatic bilateral relationships coming, being more powerful and effective than the global alliances ever were".

 

[Fruitcake]

Star Alliance has one interesting advantage over oneworld - paid in lounge members get lounge access network wide.

So a VA Lounge member could get global lounge access. With QP members having lounge entitlements in Europe decimated over the past few couple of years it could be a big selling point for VA. But by definition those are fairly low value customers - albeit ones that are willing to part with a goodly sum of cash for Lounge access.

But in practice I do not see it ever happening. JB is very clear that his "virtual network" will be alliance agnostic.

 

[MarkD]

Fantasy land, they cant even get their computers to work, or their platinum members on side. Yes I am having a DYKWIA moment, but seriously, why ask that question when they cant even get their own act together!

 

[elbarto]

Given James Hogans recent rant about alliances, I don't see either happening.

 

[samh004]

Definitely Scary Team

 

[drewbles]

Agree neither will happen. They're like EK - they link up with airlines that are advantageous to them but don't want to be bound by the conditions of those who are not.

JB hinted that if they were to join an alliance it would probably be ST not *A. I cannot think why any carrier who would be accepted into *A would want to join ST instead - I thought ST was the alliance you joined if OW and *A rejected you.

Would expect a HUGE Australian public backlash if VA joined ST as suddenly the earn and burn opportunities with SQ, NZ, VX, VS and EY vanish. Yes they would have far more routes and options but they're generally with carriers Australians dont want to fly with (like DL).

And everyone said QR would never join.

The CEO denied it up until the announcement even the day before saying he wouldn't join an alliance.

Never, ever ever, say never!

 

[Must...Fly!]

Regardless of bilateral relationships I think the real value of alliances is very often understated. I just can't see how it isn't a real bonus for each airline in the alliance. Ok I can see how it might be unattractive for a really big player such as EK, but at the same time all the airlines offer their customers flexibility where they do not and can not operate.

However with all this said I don't see Virgin joining either *A or Scary. They have 3 flexible partners and that's all they really need at this stage anyway. They have chosen well - Asia gateway, European gateway and US all covered, they only miss out really on intra-Europe (though that is a cough fest these days - see AB joining OW) and intra-Asia.

 

[777]

The wild card is Branson's and Virgin Atlantic's moves. They've just been 49% acquired by Delta, applied for a JV with AF, KLM, DL etc on the Atlantic routes and said they are investigating joining Skyteam. Makes it easier to imagine VA could do the same.

But in these days of bilateral agreements i can easily see VA joining an alliance and keeping most if not all of their JVs in place. Particularly given the blocking role that NZ, SQ and EY can play on their board.

What i do want more than a alliance right now is decent recognition intra Europe somewhere. Surely VA can partner up with someone to provide lounge access etc when travelling around Europe.

 

[DJSYD81]

I also doubt it will happen and hope it doesn't for my own reasons.

For my own international travel requirements, I love the choices of airlines that I have.

NZ = NZ or VA
USA = I usually will try and book with VX where possible and only use DL if going through their hubs
South Asia = SQ gets me most places I need to go
Europe = Usually in J or F if the price is right - Here I pick best value either J on SQ or F on Etihad
Japan = This is where I wish they would partner with ANA
China = SQ gets me there but I would like a direct option

That's about it for me, they currently get me to most places I need to go with great airlines.

Sure, some of the benefits are not aligned but as I fly exclusively VA + Partners these days I have it pretty well down pat once you learn the ins and outs..

If they joined ST I would probably bail and go back to QF. Star I can cope with but UA no thanks.