clifford said:
Until then VB will remain the battlers' airline.
Rather than an airline of 'toffs and businessmen', as TN was called by (then) PM Paul Keating?
Unfortunately the term 'Aussie battler' has been so perverted by the likes of Alan Jones and Sydney's 'Daily Telegraph' (ugh) that any family which doesn't have an ensuite off every bedroom and 4 cars in every garage seems to fit the mould. My definition of 'Aussie Battler' doesn't include anyone who is financially secure enough to go flying around in jet planes, no matter how little they paid for their ticket.
Anyhoo, DJ will never be taken seriously in the airline market until their product matures significantly. No UA crew member has ever said to me "Hi Peter! Wow, row 1! You scored well!". Also, the lack of a premium front-cabin is a major problem for DJ if they wished to join *A. Who wants to pay US$20K for a JFK/PER/JFK ticket, only to find out that they have to transfer from row 1 on the 744 to row 21 on the 738 - not only do you lose 56" of seat pitch in one fell swoop, you're expected to pay for everything that you want to eat, drink or watch (at least they aren't charging to have the window-shade up, but watch this space).
I know some New Yorkers who fly to PER for family visits a few times a year - they connect from UA to QF in SYD, because DJ's product does not meet their expectations. And unless that is fixed, don't expect to see the *A logo appearing on the DJ website, etc anytime soon.