Virgin Blue steals AFL official airline contract from Qantas

[Kendall Roy]

Twitter / Qantas Airways: QF ends AFL partnership. W ...

 

[samh004]

This mustn't have made QF too happy when they wear the uniform in the QP’s.

But they’re normally in suits when travelling aren’t they? No branding on your suit?

Goon on QF for letting the AFL have DJ, unless DJ picks up their game I think the AFL might beg QF for sponsorship the year after next. Nothing against DJ of course, but they just don’t have the timings.

 

[oz_mark]

But they’re normally in suits when travelling aren’t they? No branding on your suit?

More a team 'uniform' emblazoned with ads

 

[docjames]

It has been reported that Virgin Blue were going to become more active in sports, so I expect more to come....

Note VAustralia/Virgin have a deal with Australian Open (tennis)

Australian Open Tennis Championships 2011 - Event Guide - The Grand Slam of Asia/Pacific - Official Site by IBM

 

[samh004]

Note VAustralia/Virgin have a deal with Australian Open (tennis)

I’m trying to decide what it would be (funny, ironic, a joke) if DJ ended up sponsoring everything QF did this year/last year and because of it had less money to revamp their product and offer the market something new, while at the same time QF saving money is able to revamp their product.

 

[arraitch]

Let's see now ... on a DJ 737, Premium Economy is 2 abreast seating in the first 3 rows for a total of 12, right? So, how do you accommodate an AFL team and supporting personnel in the manner to which they may have become accustomed? Why not swap seats forward and aft for each quarter of the flight?

 

[samh004]

Let's see now ... on a DJ 737, Premium Economy is 2 abreast seating in the first 3 rows for a total of 12, right? So, how do you accommodate an AFL team and supporting personnel in the manner to which they may have become accustomed? Why not swap seats forward and aft for each quarter of the flight?

I didn’t realise players and everyone on the team flew J on QF previously. Coaches and senior management might, but not everyone goes to every game, so I doubt it’ll be an issue. They’re not selling well anyway, or so I hear.

 

[oz_mark]

At least it gives the Gold Coast team an airline they can fly on :mrgreen:

 

[Joshua]

I didn’t realise players and everyone on the team flew J on QF previously. Coaches and senior management might, but not everyone goes to every game, so I doubt it’ll be an issue. They’re not selling well anyway, or so I hear.

Always fun flying around finals time. One week I had the supporters on one flight going to MEL then had a team on the way back. All the players + management were firmly embedded in zone c of the 737. Another not so great part of their life.

 

[k_sheep]

The taller players won't be happy :shock: Last time I flew with one of the teams (Lions PER-BNE) the bigger ones were in business or bulkheads, the shorter or junior ones in normal Y. Voss (coach) actually slummed it back in Y which paints a positive picture of him!

 

[samh004]

At least it gives the Gold Coast team an airline they can fly on :mrgreen:

JQ has more flights though, and a lounge with 24-hour taps

 

[garee]

Virgin swoops in for AFL contract

From Travel Weekly

• By Michael Bruce on 19 November 2010

Virgin Blue has nabbed the lucrative Australian Football League corporate contract from Qantas in a huge boost for the carrier.
The deal will see Virgin Blue, as official airline of the AFL, carry staff and players from the 17 AFL teams around the country.
It continues Virgin’s strategy, under chief executive John Borghetti, to try and pry corporate market share away from Qantas.

 

[ozbeachbabe]

This could serve as impetus for Virgin to improve their product. Nobody wants to see poor 6'10" Aaron Sandilands cramped in DJ Y.

Well that's exactly what they're going to see. Even if DJ are prepared to give them the Blue Zone Exit seating, what if it's already sold out because other passengers have already paid the $50.00 which they can do at the time of booking? Other passengers may do this way earlier than when the AFL decide to do the bookings.

That's also assuming whoever does the AFL booking knows to prepay & prebook the Blue Zone ahead. I'd almost bet that the players will just expect to front up at the airport & get the exit row because they will just assume DJ will do the same as QF.

Let's see now ... on a DJ 737, Premium Economy is 2 abreast seating in the first 3 rows for a total of 12, right? So, how do you accommodate an AFL team and supporting personnel in the manner to which they may have become accustomed? Why not swap seats forward and aft for each quarter of the flight?

Like the old adage "you can please some of the people some of the time but you can't please all of the people all of the time."

In any case the AFL players had better get used to putting their hand in their pocket for the incidentals.

It's not out of the ball park to expect a player to have to pay an extra $200.00 per trip for incidentals that would be included if he is currently either a member of the QP or guested in by a team mate who is. This is based on food & in-flight snacks being free on QF & no surcharge domestically for exit row seating.

Access to The Lounge: $ 35.00 (no more than 2 hours before flight departure)
Blue Zone seating: $ 50.00 (based on MEL/PER flight & assuming it's available)
In-flight snacks: $ 15.00 (a conservative estimate IMHO)
Total each way $100.00

We haven't even factored in the ubiquitous 'rogue aircraft' sans the IFE & PE seating either. That would rot your socks!

 

[oz_mark]

Twitter / Qantas Airways: QF ends AFL partnership. W ...

Is it just me, or is that an unusually narky comment from QF?

 

[markis10]

Is it just me, or is that an unusually narky comment from QF?

I agree, not into sporting group exclusives but happy to have them with rental car companies........?

 

[Must...Fly!]

Is it just me, or is that an unusually narky comment from QF?

Probably an accurate portrayal of how QF feels after being asked by a sporting organisation that is way too big for its boots to support it and only it.

 

[Justinf]

Quite a few sporting teams use the Lounge now anyway.
I was in the Lounge in SYD three weeks ago and in walked the Wollongong Seahawks basketball team (ok, I had to look very closely at the badges on their shirts).

 

[Joshua]

Quite a few sporting teams use the Lounge now anyway.
I was in the Lounge in SYD three weeks ago and in walked the Wollongong Seahawks basketball team (ok, I had to look very closely at the badges on their shirts).

Reminds me when the NBL switched from QF to AN... was start of the 2001 season in September

Is it just me, or is that an unusually narky comment from QF?

Unusually unprofessional PR by QF sure, but it's honest and get my thumbs up. Probably small town Melbourne syndrome with the AFL used to getting its own way.

Since QF has always been anti new-age media, I'm wondering who actually signed up for the Twitter account. Maybe AJ has the login on his computer?

Wait for some drunk @virginblue tweets from QF in the next few hours maybe?

 

[oz_mark]

One would think that $8 million could be better spent on revamping their hard product though

One would think that Virgin Blue is being paid the $8 million, rather than being the one spending it.

 

[oz_mark]

Access to The Lounge: $ 35.00 (no more than 2 hours before flight departure)
Blue Zone seating: $ 50.00 (based on MEL/PER flight & assuming it's available)
In-flight snacks: $ 15.00 (a conservative estimate IMHO)
Total each way $100.00

We haven't even factored in the ubiquitous 'rogue aircraft' sans the IFE & PE seating either. That would rot your socks!

Without knowing the details of the offer, it's hard to say how much extra they would need to stump up. They may get invites to the lounge, they may have used up the status match allocation - lots of possibilities.

On the plus side, from what I have seen of AFL teams travelling to/from matches they don't drink a lot.