Originally Posted by
MikeMpls
The price leader in this market is an LCC -- Virgin Australia.
Until somebody checks out & substantially reduces capacity, prices aren't likely to go up. In the meantime, Qantas is
increasing capacity by throwing some A380's into the mix.
You got two newbies (VA & DL) on the route & two more established carriers (QF & UA) determined to hang on all costs.
It's a good time to visit Australia.
Mike,
Virgin Australia is a misnomer. The parent is
VirginBlue, which originally positioned itself as a LCC, but quickly reconfigured once Ansett went out of business, to more of a Qantas competitor.
The name Virgin in this region is the property of Singapore Airlines, a major Virgin Atlantic shareholder.
V Australia is not a clone of Virgin America and has been configured as an alternative to Qantas travellers.
To compare V Australia to JetStar is unfair and incorrect.
Local reports have UA denying it will pull out, but clearly the market cannot support tickets at less than half the usual prices, indefinitely.
Enjoy this route on US legacy airlines and their FFPs, while two are on it.
