Australian low-cost carrier Virgin Blue last week resumed talks with the Australian government on launching trans-Pacific services between Australia and the USA after Singapore Airlines (SIA) was denied approval to fly between Sydney and Los Angeles.
The move has resulted in SIA accusing the Australian government of protectionism – “the interests of national carriers have won out over the wider, national interestâ€, it says – but has given Virgin Blue the green light to accelerate long-held ambitions to fly transpacific services.
Virgin Blue says it is still very early days in its discussions, declining to comment on specific routes, aircraft or whether Virgin Blue or a separate entity would operate the services. The airline has been looking at a two-year timeframe to launch services, but a stumbling block is that there are currently only four flights a week available to Virgin Blue due to the existing bilateral agreement with the USA. The airline believes it would need at least daily flights to make it viable.
Flight Global (International)
The move has resulted in SIA accusing the Australian government of protectionism – “the interests of national carriers have won out over the wider, national interestâ€, it says – but has given Virgin Blue the green light to accelerate long-held ambitions to fly transpacific services.
Virgin Blue says it is still very early days in its discussions, declining to comment on specific routes, aircraft or whether Virgin Blue or a separate entity would operate the services. The airline has been looking at a two-year timeframe to launch services, but a stumbling block is that there are currently only four flights a week available to Virgin Blue due to the existing bilateral agreement with the USA. The airline believes it would need at least daily flights to make it viable.
Flight Global (International)
