Inbox

Moody’s places Virgin Australia on review for credit downgrade

Paul says: Just because Luxon from Air New Zealand spits the dummy doesn’t mean Etihad and Singapore won’t continue to back Borghetti and Virgin! Lyn says: Shame on all of you. How smart we all are to coach from the sidelines. I’ll give you the biggest reason why both airlines are struggling: THE CUSTOMER.

The customer wanted to fly with more than one option a day. They wanted full service, top notch food and new seats. They wanted direct routes, shorter layovers, Frequent Flyer Status and points redemption, so they could fly for nothing. They wanted to fly in a pair of board shorts and thongs, or sometimes no shoes at all.

And they wanted all this for less than the price of an iPad.

Air travel used to be an occasion. People paid big money and expected nothing more than a half decent seat with a snack or two during the flight. And airlines made money. These days, people change airlines because the IFE didn’t work properly on a particular flight.

Virgin and Qantas both need to bring back correct pricing and stop this stupid assumption that people won’t pay. They’ll still pay, but at least they will also be wearing shoes.

Air NZ plans capacity boost, schedule changes to domestic network

David says: Expect a public backlash against the extra flights between Christchurch & Wellington not being jets. This market has been jet only for a long time. Air NZ will eventually have to buy some more A320s.

Navy tenders for interim VTOL UAS capability

Josh says: This makes sense only when the UAV does not take a hangar space away from a more flexible manned helicopter. The MQ-8C is in experimental use with the US Navy (it is not an operational capability) and requires a full hangar to itself. It also required the same maintenance workload as a conventional helicopter, but with less operational flexibility. V-200 makes far more sense for the moment.

Jetstar plans eveningMelbourne-Queenstown service

Tyron says: Great news for those heading into and out of the lower South Island, but what are the contingencies in the event that the flight is diverted? Which airport would serve as an alternate? Dunedin? Christchurch? Jetstar’s Auckland-centric network doesn’t fly between Queenstown and those cities so if you’re diverted you’ll most likely end up on a bus to Queenstown.

These days, people change airlines because the IFE didn’t work.