Re: Countrylink looking up again

["Al" <alpout@optusnet.com.au>]

> > > > > > Well, with the cheap airfares gone between Sydney and Melbourne
> (since
> > > > > Qantas
> > > > > > has taken over Impulse), wanna bet on the XPT patronage going up
> > > again?
> > > > >
> > > > > Cheap airfares gone? I just booked (at 2320 on 01MAY01) a $132
> return
> > > > > SYD-MEL on QF for 17JUN. This is about 15 hours after the deal was
> > > > > announced.
> > > >
> > > > I'll bet they don't last long.  $50 says that's your last trip at that
> > > price.
> > >
> > > Just looked again, still available.
> >
> > And when's your next trip after that one going to be, if you're booking
> them 6
> > weeks in advance?
>
> Just checked for August, and October, and November, still seats available on
> plenty of flights.
>
> So it makes the claim "cheap airfares gone" clearly wrong. They *may* be
> going, or they may not be going, but they haven't *gone* (the original
> claim).

OK, be pedantic.  I know I travel on a budget, and my plans for travelling are
now planning for the worst case.

> Besides, the ACCC would have their guts for garters if they removed the
> cheap seats on SYD-MEL whilst they kept them on SYD-BNE and other routes
> that Virgin Blue operates on. This would be clear evidence of predatory
> pricing, and not even Qantas is stupid enough to do that.

> > > > > And you seem to have forgotten about Virgin Blue.
> > > >
> > > > No I didn't.  I stated Sydney-Melbourne, which is a route that Virgin
> Blue
> > > > doesn't fly.
> > >
> > > At the moment - how long before they start?
> >
> > At least a year, according to one article I read this morning.
>
> Not the general consensus within the aviation community. There will be
> excess capacity at the Express terminals in SYD and MEL, and Virgin Blue
> already operate to MEL from BNE, so adding SYD-MEL would not be a major
> addition.

>From the SMH this morning "But the low-cost competitor, Virgin Blue, insisted
last night it would continue to expand services and offer a range of cheap fli
ghts, although it could be a year before it was able to battle on the main
Sydney-Melbourne route."

For one thing, they need planes.  If they had enough to add the route straight
away, that would be excess capacity that would be sitting around costing them
a pile.  OK, they have 14 new 737's coming, but it takes Boeing a bit longer
to put a plane together than Holden does a car.  Secondly, don't you think
they'll analyse what went wrong with Impulse on the Sydney-Melbourne route and
make sure they don't make the same mistakes?

And with the ownership of various airlines, how about Impulse = Qantas Lite,
and Virgin = Diet Ansett?