Virgin Airlines down to 4 bidders

[bob10]

Four bidders shortlisted for Virgin Australia (https://thenewdaily.com.au/finance/finance-news/2020/05/18/bidders-virgin-australia/?utm_source=Adestra&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=PM%20Extra%20-%2020200518)

[speleomike]

Yes, a shame not see see Qld Govt in the bidding anymore and its now down to private equity firms.

[Hugh Jars]

I'm waiting with bated breath in the hope I still have a job with whoever takes us over...

[W&KO]

Yes, a shame not see see Qld Govt in the bidding anymore and its now down to private equity firms.

As a QLD tax payer I’m not sure they were serious.

As others have said, taking on a business that ran on low margins and massive debt doesn’t sound like a good investment. Maybe they will change there business model but would they stay competitive??

[W&KO]

I'm waiting with bated breath in the hope I still have a job with whoever takes us over...

Hopefully Virgin stay in the sky and you get to steer us around, I travel extensively for work and preferred and tried my best to book Virgin over Qantas.

Although I’ve proven over the last 6-8 weeks I can do my job without travel (greatly reduced travel) therefore hopefully I won’t be able to maintain Gold Membership.

[DiscoMick]

The Qld Govt as I understand it was offering $200m through its stand-alone investment arm Queensland Investment Corporation to become a minority shareholder and try to ensure the HQ and 5000 jobs stay in Queensland. Good on them, I say.
The QIC is a separate body to the government, so its investments don't affect the state budget, any more than the debts of Australia Post affect the federal budget.

I assume most of the $7b in debts of Virgin Australia will be written off, with the foreign shareholders taking a big haircut. It could only cost a fraction of the current debt to get the airline flying again.

[JDNSW]

The whole airline business is going to be a lot smaller for a long time, so, even more than other businesses, it is not going to be "business as usual" any time soon for airlines. For a start, it is clear that international travel is going to be very limited until a vaccine or effective treatment is widely available.

And for more than a hundred years, the airline business has, as an industry, been a very effective method for reducing shareholder wealth, transferring it to aircraft manufacturers, governments, passengers, airport operators and fuel suppliers. Virgin's effort of running for a a couple of decades with only two years in the black is unfortunately pretty typical of the industry throughout its history.

[DiscoMick]

I heard one airline executive say Australia only has enough traffic to support about 1.5 airlines.
Apart from Qantas and Virgin, let's not forget Rex either, specialising in remote and rural destinations.

[Hugh Jars]

I heard one airline executive say Australia only has enough traffic to support about 1.5 airlines.
Apart from Qantas and Virgin, let's not forget Rex either, specialising in remote and rural destinations.
Which airline did he/she work for, Mick?

[Hugh Jars]

So we have a new owner. Signoff should happen in 14 or so days. Sadly, all our NZ, Tiger, ATR, B777 and A330 crew have been made redundant, and the company is looking for voluntary redundancies on my fleet (B737).
Unfortunately, what's on offer will only attract those who just want to walk away. It's not enough to even carry one through until next year.
Not even sure if I'll keep my rank/job yet, but I don't really care if I get demoted. I'm feeling very fortunate just to have a job (and jobkeeper) at the moment. I think of my mates with families that may never fly again, and all the other support people affected by this...