Why Virgin Australia's 737 MAX Tokyo Route Is Genius
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- čas přidán 12. 01. 2023
- Virgin Australia will be flying from Cairns to Tokyo Haneda from June 2023 on the 737 MAX 8. While this is a long time to be on a narrow body aircraft, this is a great strategic move which will likely succeed.
Even if i still wouldn't fly for this long on a narrow body, this is a good video. I do hope VA introduces some 787's like they were planning pre-administration/
Imagine if virgin Australia started reconsidering wide body aircraft’s, id be down
I think it's time they started leasing wide bodies, pandemic is over and they need to challenge Qantas on long haul routes
Fax I loved the B777-300ER with the virgin Australia livery it looked so good
@@Captain_Bozo in pre-pandemic Virgin Australia was interested in ordering the A350 and 787 and the 777x was also considered
Risk takers are often the ones gaining success. The only risk
one can take is by not trying/risking at all
100%, wishing them success!
Here's to looking up, Virgin Australia 🌸❤️✈️
Indeed!
They will succeed!!!❤❤❤ fly high!!!
Fingers crossed!
I've had 5 Jetstar trips from CNS - Japan since 2015 and had two cancellations. The worst one was that i knew my plane was in CNS the night before then they cancelled because of "engineering fault" well that plane flu to Melbourne then direct to Depasar, the plane in Melbourne had the "engineering fault" but i guess it was a more profitable flight. Will be glad to give Virgin a go. Cheers.
Yeah I'm sure Virgin will be more reliable. About time Jetstar got some competition on the route!
I think the decision to fly to Tokyo from Carins is a great decision. However, I think it’s time Virgin Australia gets some widebodies. Even if they had only 2-4 A350s or 787s it would mean they could fly selected routes. They could put in an off the shelf business seat, a basic premium economy (or skip it all together) and economy.
Always look on the bright side of life!!!
Cheers
Unfortunately my family refuses to fly 737 for that long but I would!
Only watching this bcuz I’m meant to go on it
They just started this route with the 737-700 I saw on Flightradar24 and I went on the website and you can book it
Yeah they're still waiting for the 737 MAX to be delivered and for the crew to get the adequate training on it
not too bad they just need to time an adelaide to cairns connection better for the SA market.anything to avoid a long transit in singapore on SQ.
Agreed
NGL - am flying this route in Dec and the narrowbody i could cope with for a day flight with a decent IFE, but the flight back is red eye. I'm starting to regret this decision now. Your points are valid around the slots but really shouldve considered 1 widebody & left the narrows for DPS
Their first flight to Tokyo left 2 hours late 😂😂😂😂😂😂
Let's hope they don't make it a habit
Qantas is so bad now. Would gladly transit at Cairns and take the long way on Virgin to Tokyo!
Agreed. It's actually a serious consideration for some given how bad it is at the moment.
I would happily take this in the other direction.Tokyo to Cairns and if it's Available Cairns to Adelaide Virgin all one stop.currently if we don't count Jetstar the only other viable option other than Qantas through Sydney or Melbourne I would consider is Singapore Airlines via Singapore.
Yeah that makes sense, especially for someone from Adelaide it makes sense to go via Cairns as it is in the same direction of travel and hence less flying time
Recently flew Qantas Melbourne to Sydney on board Qantas a330, service was good, food was actually rlly good, and the staff gave free snacks. Don’t know what u mean by Qantas is bad, it’s still top tier and the best airline in Australia.
@akry quit yt glad you had a good experience, I'm actually not surprised. Their A330 is probably one of the best domestic experiences in the world. Ever since COVID I think it's the inconsistency that many are frustrated about.
I think that it is a great idea. I will consider taking it the next time I go to Asia. New destination and new options. Always better service anyway.
That's for sure!
I've flown business class with Virgin for a 7hr flight and let me say... I couldn't wait to get off that plane. It was uncomfortable, there is absolutely no entertainment system and minimal food! The only advantage I had was extra leg room. If I had to fly economy on Virgin for this long I would choose not to go... it needs updating badly
Did you fly Cairns to tokyo? I'm waiting for someone to do a flight review. Personally I would rather take a bus than that product 🤣🤣🤣🤣
I agree with the above, I did BNE to DPS. Was like 6 hrs IIRC, in business class, sucked.
they need to launch brisbane to tokyo one day.
Absolutely that was always the plan pre-COVID. Let's see if they can get those wide bodies for that.
@@FlightSideOfLife When i think about widebodies and virgin australia, i recckon the 777s were just too big for them and their a330s didn't fully suit their operations that well. If they ever launch widebodies with virgin australia, i think the 787 would suit them better.
@@electro_sykes yeah exactly, they were actually talking about getting 787s when Bain Capital took over as the A330 and 777 weren't as fuel efficient
even before covid, Virgin were making losses with their 777s. They couldn't even fill all the seats on their flights to LAX from Brisbane. At least, they managed to get better demand from Sydney but still, they were making a loss. Meanwhile, the a330 just didn't fit in with the Virgin Network. And the ATRs flying on the regional routes weren't turning that much profit either.
The 737s on the other hand suit Virgin just perfectly.
@@electro_sykes SYD/MEL to LAX was making a profit/covering expenses pre-COVID. Although it was said that it was propped up by former partner DL before COVID (similar to how SQ and EY were partners). However both DL and EY were subsequently replaced by UA and QR as partners under VA's new ownership post COVID.
🌸🌸🌸
Thanks for your comment! Please subscribe
@@FlightSideOfLife I did but won't show coz my subs are private. Keep making videos!
I am soon to be a VA Cabin Crew by the way 😍🥰🙏✈️❤️
Who needs a a321 xlr? We got boeing max.
Back in the day, even Ansett used B7747-300s from SQ to fly Osaka Japan and Hong Kong < VA 's 777-300ER was a fantastic plane , they should just grab a couple of Cathay 's 777 from Alice Spring long term parking to fly to HND hahaha.....! Don't make OZ looks bad
Agreed
VA still owns 3 or so 777 they are just leased to Qatar, they will probably bring them back eventually
@@fyshi6226 VA don’t own them
@iceboxash1126 they own 4, that are leased to Qatar....
VA should move on to look for 787, 330 Neo or A350s …. 773s are getting old
At the moment this route ONLY works well for Japanese tourists going to Cairns. If you live in Melbourne and want to visit Tokyo, then the extra connection time in CNS really nullify the time saving of landing into HND and so the direct MEL/SYD/BNE to Tokyo flight by QF/JL/NH/JQ might actually be more convenient time wise even though some of them might land in NRT. It's also not that much quicker than connecting via Singapore/HK/Manila/Kuala Lumpur and even full service carrier like CX often offer lower fare than VA does on the AU-Japan route and usually the Qantas direct from Melbourne or Sydney isn't that much more expensive either.
If your business model is to attract inbound tourists then pick up the scraps from the broader australia - japan market that's totally fine. BUTTTTT Virgin does no marketing in Japan. Their website doesn't support Japanese and worst is that you can't book starting from HND (it prompts you to go to ANA and book the ANA codeshare instead). If the business case is to go be a Jetstar competitor then it either needs to match Jetstart closer in pricing (it's currently not cheap enough IMO). But with the wrong aircraft (737-8 is not as good as the A321LR or B757 in these routes) VA is probably unable to price tickets any lower given the aircraft is probably being pushed to its limit so no extra cargo capacity to supplement the revenue. A321XLR would have been an ideal aircraft for VA but too bad it's a Boeing operation and it really doesn't have an answer to the A321XLR series.
It probably helps that the Queensland Government (in partnership with Cairns Airport) is subsidising VA's Cairns to Tokyo service through the Attracting Aviation Investment Fund (AAIF) where VA is one of many airlines where international routes are subsidised, the vast majority of AAIF subsidised routes with the Queensland Government's intention of getting 'returns' from inbound tourism.
Safe to say if it wasn't for the Queensland Government subsidising the service, Bain would've let the Tokyo slot lapse back in March of this year.
background music makes it really hard to understand what you're saying. Otherwise, a good video
Thanks for the feedback!
thought Virgin Australia still have A330-200 in its fleet, it's a joke to fly to a 737 into Haneda from Cairns in my opinions ! Back in the old day Even Ansett Australia leased 747-300 classic from SQ to fly to Osaka Kansai and Hong Kong 😂
Unfortunately after the voluntary administration and Bain takeover they got rid of all their widebody aircraft. Agree they should try and at least lease a wide body.
Should virgin add some A321XLR or LRs like jetblue? If jetblue could fit mint studio onto their a321s, why can't va do the same thing?
Would absolutely love it Virgin became a JetBlue like airline in Australia. The Australian public is yearning for something like this given the alternative is Qantas.
@@FlightSideOfLife I am about to book a leisure trip to Singapore then on to Europe. What airline should I book that is cheap, considering qantas isn't a good option these days.
@@basicopplayz4143 Something like a Vietnam or Philippine Airlines would be a cheap option. Not the best transit but if it is value you're after that's the way to go
That would’ve been amazing, right now Virgin Australia seems like a slightly more premium Jetstar, upgrading themselves into something like JetBlue and Qantas then would actually need to worry about their products
they just scrapped one of their last 777s what a shame
Such a shame
At least they are being given a new life, some are now flying for Qatar airways and still retain the original VA cabin! (Albeit with a Qatar Airways livery)
Virgin > Qantas
damn too late for me I booked qantas for April
and 737 max
fuck
no
definitely not
I understand where you're coming from but the 737 MAX has been tested so many times now because of the controversy, one could argue its the safest plane in the sky now
@@FlightSideOfLife yeah but then again, it did skip out on a few things *made. specifically for the jet* I forgot what it was called like EICAS or something idk
Virgin still has 2 x 777s sitting in West Wellcamp. Just saying…
Both gone. One scrapped, the other long sold to Qatar.
@@RTransportGuy source?
@@NoName-ml3kt Planespotters website. VH-VPD has been flown to Europe and is now scrapped. VH-VPH has also been sold to Qatar Airways as A7-BOG
Haneda is not huh-NEE-duh, but HAH-nè-duh 🥲🥲🥲
Haha my mistake!
Yeah nah. 7 hours in a metal pencil on a LCC being VA is a hellish thought
OMG ! it's ashamed to whole Australian image , atleast fly A330 or A321 LR equivalent if VA doesn't have 787 or A350 yet
They should really lease a larger aircraft but it may be too soon as they only recent got out of administration
VA really should start planning of getting some newer wide bodies jets , forget about 773 & 332
It will fall !!!
737 MAX has been certified now, probably the safest aircraft on the planet given the scrutiny!
@@FlightSideOfLife I doubt. politics still prevails everywhere.
The CNS-HND service is 'propped' up by the Queensland Government under the Aviation Attraction Investment Fund (AAIF). VA applied for the taxpayer funded funding after QF got their Qld Government subsidised funding for the BNE-HND x3 weekly service on the A330.