Virgin Blue signs order for 50 new Boeing 737 jets

[tuppaware]

DJ were not the first operators of the E Jets on RPT services in Australia, Air North were.

They were the first operator of E190s by two weeks over SkyAirWorld and the first to receive a factory certified ETOPs aircraft, they had been Australian ETOPS certified since 2003 so there was no real cost involved that was any different to another type being introduced.

In short there were no additional costs of certification in Australia for the e jets experienced by DJ, Air North, SkyAirWorld/PG who have/had run them in their fleet. This is borne out by the fact DJ ordered more after their introduction, indicating they had great faith in the product. Most of the E Jets problems have been attributed to airlines that have not run a DC9 sized aircraft before, and the issues faced with loads etc, look how much QF moved their 717s about before they found a niche - same story.

I stand corrected - I got told by a friend who worked for them, that the cost to DJ was quite high.

 

[markis10]

I stand corrected - I got told by a friend who worked for them, that the cost to DJ was quite high.

The cost of bringing them into the fleet as a second type to a single type airline would be considerable, given the different equipment required as well as ground handling etc, perhaps that was what was meant by your friend, those sort of costs need to be absorbed over time as the assets age but would take a lot of cash.

One thing that annoys me as a regular traveler is the changes in equipment to what I am expecting, a couple of times I got an E jet when I was expecting a 737, and the news that a few of the new aircraft will lack the features current aircraft have such as premium economy is going to make fleet management harder for DJ than it currently is.

 

[maninblack]

The US is a very different market.

Most cities are fairly close together, and there is no golden triangle which carries the bulk of pax.

In comparison with here where in the "golden triangle" both the SYD - MEL (sitting between 3 \ 4) and SYD - BNE (sitting at 10) routes have appeared in the top 10 of busiest routes in the world, we have a major capital city which has nothing near it for 1000 km in every direction.

Also airlines (especially au airlines it seems to be) are not stupid, they wouldn't put widebodies onto a route which they couldn't make a profit on. I'd bet those "empty" 767's QF flys during the day between SYD \ MEL is loaded up with freight.

Baloney.

Most SWA routes are just as far apart and it is not just some mythical golden triangle here, there is also ADL, CBR, OOL, and other cities in the network that are all actually quite close together.

Who is "they", there is only one AU airline with widebodies on domestic routes other than a few JQ (part of the one "they") repositions that may occur.

It is a substantial factor in their ops that fleet commonality and efficiencies of 737's that have save SWA's bacon whilst others have burned.

 

[NM]

I think continuation of the 737NG commitment by DJ makes perfect sense. Many thriving and growing airlines follow a similar strategy of providing point-to-point services (rather than just hub-spoke) and high frequency services providing their customers with the options and flexibility that seek.

While some people may prefer the additional openness or perception of space provided by a wide-body aircraft, the reality is that DJ has made the choice that addresses their operational requirement to fulfil their grown plan in the Australian domestic and Trans-Tasman markets.

It interesting to note that one of design goals of the 737NG was to operate USA trans-continental services. This was a requirement defined by South West Airlines as part of their desire to purchase a very large number of narrow-body aircraft. While these aircraft are well suited to the <1000 mile routes commonly found in Australia, they are also designed to be economically viable for the longest routes found in Australia and Trans-Tasman.