Beemer B773ER

Virgin Blue Announces Name of New International Longhaul Airline and Livery

25/07/2007



Competition on the Trans Pacific route is a step closer with the official announcement in Sydney of the name of Virgin Blue's new long haul carrier and flagship aircraft on July 25.

Virgin Blue is also pleased to announce that it received formal confirmation from Australia's International Air Services Commission (IASC) on July 24 that it has approval to operate return non-stop services between Australia and the United States commencing late 2008*.

"V Australia" will initially operate flights between the east coast of Australia and the west coast of the United States of America, with the first flight operated by a brand new B777-300ER launch aircraft named "Didgeree Blue".

The livery of "V Australia" was also unveiled on July 25, keeping in touch with its Virgin Blue roots, but revealing a contemporary look which will launch a new era of competition on the Trans Pacific route. The airline will sport a smart silver fuselage with a red tail featuring the stars of the Southern Cross and elements of the Australian flag.



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Michael

Wow. That is all I have to say.

Virgin is growing so big its not even funny. One may argue that they are annoylingly growing so fast.

Beemer B773ER

I agree, but what you have to remember is the Virgin brand is growing, the company itself is very much split-up when talking about the airline industry. Virgin Atlantic is 49% owned by Singapore Airlines so it's no longer majority owned by Sir Richard Branson. Virgin Blue (in Australia) although started by Richard Branson is pretty an Australian company, with V Australia being their new International offshoot.

I'll really be looking into flying with V Australia towards the end of 2008/beginning of 2009. If they offer good service, good inflight entertainment and good pricing, then most likely I'll fly with them... but we'll see.

I'm very happy to hear that V Australia will be operating to USA, because the Australia-USA routing is one of Qantas' most profitable routes since only they and United Airlines offer direct flights. So hopefully V Australia will provide competitive pricing.... I've had enough of paying AU$1,700 for a return ticket (and that's on sale, usually it's above the AU$2000 mark).

Beemer B773ER

Some interesting I noticed guys... and it seems like a bit of a slip-up by whoever created that Photoshoped image of the V Australia 773ER.

Compare the engines shown in the V Australia pic with that of Boeing 777-300ER:





There is a clear difference in the engines.. which is might strange considering that the 773ER is only offered with one type of engine - the GE90-115B.

My first thought was that maybe the designer who created that chop used the 777-300 as the base aircraft and then applied the V Australia livery, but the aircraft in the pic has raked wingtips which definately makes it a 777-300ER.

Any thoughts...?

Michael

Well, that is clearly a 777-300ER because of the length in it by itself. I didn't, and still don't, notice any difference between engines.

I did not know all of that information that you provide earlier about Virgin, and I did not know they were partly owned by Singapore Airlines.

Beemer B773ER

Yeh, the aircraft branch of the Virgin brand is fragmented quite a bit.

Interestingly enough, in allowing Virgin Blue to set-up domestic operations in Australia, Singapore Airlines created a strict condition that the word/name 'Virgin' could not be used for flights which were not domestic flights. This is why Virgin Blue had to create Pacific Blue to be able to fly to New Zealand and other Pacific Islands. So the reason behind having 'V Australia' instead of 'Virgin Australia' was because of this special condition. Furthermore, lately Singapore Airlines has been in the news discussing the possible selling back of their share of ownership in the Virgin brand back to Richard Branson. If this does go ahead, you can bet your bottom dollar that V Australia will be re-branded as Virgin Australia.

The Diva

Halleluia!!!

Ever been on a trans-polar flight?

Beemer B773ER

I can't say that I have CarDiva... but it sure would be nice to fly a polar-route.

In relation to V Australia though, I very much doubt they'll be opting for a polar-routing.. just the usual out of Sydney and curve up towards Fiji.. then fly past Hawaii and into either LAX or SFO. I've done this routing so many times in the past year and a half that it's actually getting a little boring. I'm trying to find new (but affordable) routings to SFO... but that's a bit tricky.

The Diva

Exactly!

the trans-polar flight ( NY- Sao Paolo or Buenos Aires-Sidney) is a very long boring trek.

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