Virgin Atlantic staff shocked over flight axe

Virgin Atlantic staff shocked over flight axe
By admin


Virgin Atlantic’s local general manager has spoken of his disappointment at the decision to axe flights between Hong Kong and Sydney from May as he praised the local operation for performing “at the top of our game”.

Luke Fisher told Travel Today the news was met with shock by its Sydney-based staff who were informed of the decision last night.

“It’s fair to say it’s been a bolt from the blue,” Fisher revealed. “When the meeting was called quite a few were thinking we were going to be speaking about something else. I think people in my team were mostly shocked.”

The UK carrier announced its exit from Australia soon after Fisher and its London-based director of airline planning, Edmond Rose, delivered the bombshell to local staff.

In a statement, Virgin said the route was “no longer considered profitable” amid increasing costs, a challenging economic environment and weakening Australian dollar.

Fisher said he was “very disappointed” at the decision to axe the flights after a mostly profitable and successful nine-year Australian operation.

Questions over the viability of the HK-Sydney sector emerged “relatively recently”, he said, and followed a decline in yields over the past three to six months as operational costs climbed.

Fisher praised the performance of the local operation which, under his near eight-year leadership, oversaw revenue growth from $60 million to $100 million.

Load factors have remained high and its on-time performance has been among the best in the industry, he added.

Asked whether he felt the decision to axe the route had been made too hastily, Fisher said: “That’s for other people to decide.

“I am very disappointed. We are in an industry that has its ups and downs and it has been acknowledged that we have performed better than expected, and we could have continued to do that.

“But I don’t have control or influence over operational costs such as fuel and aircraft leasing. Those sorts of costs are managed and controlled in the UK and the view is that this sector is not going to be profitable in the short or mid-term future.”

He described the local operation as performing “at the top of our game” in all issues under its control while “challenging” revenue targets were always “met or surpassed”.

Fisher added that competition has been tough, with yields "under threat".

"But we have never been an airline that has shied away from competition or a fight," he said, adding that Virgin Atlantic's market share has exceeded its capacity share.  

Fisher admitted that fuel costs, particularly for its four-engine aircraft which operate between Hong Kong and Sydney, have remained an issue and are double what they were five or six years ago.

He added that its cargo operation will continue while the intention is to maintain a commercial presence in Australia, albeit with a drastically reduced team.

Fisher said his own immediate future was focused on consulting with staff and helping them through what could be a "traumatic" period.

Virgin Atlantic's final flight from Hong Kong to Sydney will be on May 4 with the final return flight departing the following day.

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