WW "airlines to go bust"
Apr 22, 2020, 8:49 am
#1096
Join Date: Apr 2020
Posts: 94
Not to mention that - with any meaningful international flying unlikely before the end of 2020 - it’s utterly ludicrous to suggest that IAG or any airline is going to use any of their liquidity (which they desperately need to stay a going concern) in order to make acquisitions.
Apr 22, 2020, 9:35 am
#1097
Join Date: May 2003
Location: DEL
Programs: Mucci du Miel d'Or
Posts: 2,375
Not to mention that - with any meaningful international flying unlikely before the end of 2020 - it’s utterly ludicrous to suggest that IAG or any airline is going to use any of their liquidity (which they desperately need to stay a going concern) in order to make acquisitions.
Apr 22, 2020, 9:54 am
#1098
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Flatland
Programs: AA Lifetime Gold 1MM, BA Gold, UA Peon
Posts: 6,111
There will be plenty of opportunity for IAG to buy things (airlines, aircraft, manufacturer delivery slots...) at knock-down prices after international aviation restarts. Not many other entities will have spare cash for a bidding war or rapid moves. Even the sole-proprietor countries (like Kuwait, Qatar or Singapore) won't have the spare cash for adventures.
Apr 23, 2020, 2:56 am
#1099
Join Date: Sep 2010
Posts: 610
Virgin Care used the NHS disputes mechanism it is not the same as suing. Stop making it sound like Richard Branson personally did this because he did not.
It was the commissioners fault. They took a deliberate decision not to supply answers to Virgin Care as to why they lost the tender exercise. And remember they already had provided the service that was being recontracted.
It was the commissioners decision to sign the new contract with the other provider despite knowing Virgin Care was questioning the process. That meant Virgin Care had to use the formal disputes mechanism to get answers
It was the commissioners who offered the settlement.
It was the commissioners fault. They took a deliberate decision not to supply answers to Virgin Care as to why they lost the tender exercise. And remember they already had provided the service that was being recontracted.
It was the commissioners decision to sign the new contract with the other provider despite knowing Virgin Care was questioning the process. That meant Virgin Care had to use the formal disputes mechanism to get answers
It was the commissioners who offered the settlement.
Also, the amount that Virgin "health" has made from the NHS, and unless there is proof that Branson has actually put back £75m into it, i would take that with a pinch of salt.
I work in the NHS (in a lowly small role and nothing corporate) and believe me.. everyone i have worked with since this has happened holds nothing but contempt for this man and his company,.
Apr 23, 2020, 3:54 am
#1100
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: UK - Hampshire & London
Programs: Mucci de Guardian des Celliers des Grands Crus 1e Classé, plus BAEC.
Posts: 2,736
Apr 23, 2020, 4:46 am
#1102
Join Date: Aug 2013
Posts: 8,772
Sounds like this whole NHS/Virgin thing is only really a known issue among NHS people. I certainly don't think it was in the national consciousness prior to the Branson statement this week. I had not heard about it, or if I had it would have been a very distant news snippet. It's not something that would have come to mind in association with the Virgin brand.
Apr 23, 2020, 5:13 am
#1104
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: London
Programs: BA, VS, HH, IHG, MB, MR
Posts: 26,871
This could be helpful, oddly, because it means Delta won't be an obstacle in a bailout which gives the Government an equity stake, or potentially a pre-pack administration where Virgin Group buys it straight back.
Apr 23, 2020, 5:16 am
#1105
Join Date: Jul 2016
Posts: 73
"We’re already at our ownership cap at 49%, and candidly with our crisis with the cash that we need to protect our own business, that’s what our focus is. I trust Virgin Atlantic will work through its challenges with the Government and with Richard. If they are required to go through an administration process in the UK, I’m confident they could re-emerge, there is a need for the Virgin brand"
There was also a well balanced but slightly more optimistic piece from Simon Calder in the Independent:
“I predict that a compromise (with the government) will be found, and that Virgin Atlantic will continue to provide British passengers with something no other European nation has: two excellent airlines locked in ferocious competition.”
I guess it all boils down to the fact that at the moment, none of us know what will happen. In the meantime, let's try to be balanced, remain kind to each other and hope that the circa 10,000 employed by Virgin Atlantic retain their ability to pay taxes back into the British economy whilst providing great competition to BA, benefiting everyone.
Apr 23, 2020, 5:37 am
#1106
Moderator: British Airways Executive Club, Iberia Airlines, Airport Lounges and Environmentally Friendly Travel
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: London, UK
Posts: 22,213
Forbes reports “Delta will not be providing Virgin Atlantic any financial assistance. It is Delta expecting cash: Virgin has to pay Delta $200 million related to their joint-venture, the airlines agreed earlier this year.”
https://www.forbes.com/sites/willhor.../#2cb0f0a630d2
https://www.forbes.com/sites/willhor.../#2cb0f0a630d2
Apr 23, 2020, 6:48 am
#1107
Join Date: May 2003
Location: DEL
Programs: Mucci du Miel d'Or
Posts: 2,375
Thar's not great, particularly in the court of public opinion, which can have some bearing on the approach the government takes (rightly or wrongly).
Apr 23, 2020, 7:05 am
#1108
Join Date: Oct 2007
Posts: 4,648
Apr 23, 2020, 7:30 am
#1109
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: London, UK
Posts: 5,656
Do Delta really need to Virgin Atlantic to survive?
Clearly from an ex-UK passenger perspective the Virgin brand is helpful, but they're perfectly capable of serving the UK market with their own metal. There's the rest of the SkyTeam trans-atlantic joint business to serve mainland Europe.
Of course there will still be significant trans-atlantic competition between the three main groupings, even if a minor member of one of those three groupings fails.
Clearly from an ex-UK passenger perspective the Virgin brand is helpful, but they're perfectly capable of serving the UK market with their own metal. There's the rest of the SkyTeam trans-atlantic joint business to serve mainland Europe.
Of course there will still be significant trans-atlantic competition between the three main groupings, even if a minor member of one of those three groupings fails.
Apr 23, 2020, 8:02 am
#1110
Join Date: Aug 2015
Programs: BA OWS, A3*G
Posts: 262
No. VS' utility to DL is primarily three-fold: a relatively small contingent of UK-based/VS FFs who are thus more likely to fly with DL, non-stop routes between London and DC/Bay Area/Florida where there are no DL hubs, and a pile of LHR slots enabling DL to sell more (frequent) flights to London. Most of this can be replaced by buying some LHR slots (availability must surely be up and prices down at the moment) and scheduling a few W-pattern rotations e.g. JFK-LHR-IAD-LHR-JFK.