If you ran VS where would YOU spend the money?

[Decker]

Well if I was in charge of VS I suspect I'd spend most of my money where I made most of my money . My personal pecking order would probably be


LHR-JFK-SFO-LGW-IAD-HKG-SYD-LAS-JNB-NRT-MAN-CPT-Caribbean

Bound to have missed some but...

To get a definitive user survey we'd need to allow 10 locations ranked 1-10 then collate the info. Can anyone be bothered?

[preiffer]

I'd say LAX NEEDS a lot more pumped into it than any other destination (but then, that also relies on the Airport Auth. giving them room...)

MCO - Clubhouse PLEASE!

Improving the SILVER benefits[:(!]

I guess I would spend about 90% of it on getting new routes and the metal to serve them. As for the other 10%, well I need a new boat.

Improving levels of service in all cabins in order to regain the distinction between VS and, err, certain other carriers we could mention.

For example, a couple of extra inches pitch in Economy. More frequent drinks runs on all flights (not at cabin crew's whim). Perhaps Servisair lounge access for PE. V:Port on all aircraft. Lamb shank back on the menu in Upper.

Originally posted by sailor99
I..As for the other 10%, well I need a new boat.

That's a BIG boat Sailor [y]

Phil

I agree with Christopher, invest in the product! reverse all the 'little' cutbacks that have happened over the past few years and bring VA back to it's pre 9/11 best.

[Scrooge]

I agrww with preiffer,something need's to be done about LAX,it's has always been treated as the red headed step child in California.

Of course MAN need's a club house and one at MCO wouldn't be a bad idea.

I feel that VS should invest in their product as well,as has been noted in many posts VS for a longtime was ahead of the pack in so many ways,now the pack is biting at it's heal's and in some ways overtaking them.

Time to become a leader again.

I would like to see a MAN-LAS flight addedwith BMI switching to a wet lease 763 this route is prime for the taking.

It will be interesting to see what VS does in the next few months with the Y/W revamp,seat pitch will alwaysbe a moaning point,but when you have airlines like FCA offering more pitch than you to me that is a very big black eye.

[Scrooge]

Oh yeah.

LHR-LAX-LAS-MAN-MCO-MIA-SYD-LGW-CPT-JNB

In that order.

My first instinct would be to improve the conditions in EC and add a few more perks to EC.

UCS seems fine to me, but a reversal of cutbacks would be good.

My second instict would be marketing and overall image, because with my business hat on image is 50% of a sale.

Adding more routes without consolidating the image and service provided is a business mistake in my view.

I would also ditch overseas call centres, scripted responce sheets
and outsorced staff.

[Nottingham Nick]

I would start with a CH and extra destinations at MAN, then one (space permitting) at LAX then MCO, then BOS.

I would then re-introduce flights to Chicago and Toronto.

Next I would add to the B&S routes with trips to Cancun and add Seattle to the LHR destinations.

Improvements at LHR LGW would always be on any wish list, so they make up my top 10.

so- MAN LAX MCO BOS ORD YYZ CUN SEA LHR LGW

Nick

I'd put most of the money into on board improvements in comfort and unique items that are only found on board VS flights so that we can attract new passengers to our airline.

I would spend some time focusing properly on business travellers: Virgin's clientele is skewed towards the bucket and spade brigade and loads are high on these routes (aided by VH), but IMO VS needs to compete more directly on business routes with BA.

I'd suggest:

+ Reversing the diminution in UC product (much better food/drink)
+ Having sufficient metal to guarantee UCS and Video on Demand IFE on all business routes to address current inconsistencies
+ Addressing the variability in UC staff service through a better training programme
+ Building proper Clubhouses at LAX, BOS, PVG and SYD and any new business destinations
+ Extending the route network to under-served business destinations: don't bother with ORD but focus on SEA, YVR, HOU, SIN (OK, OK, not going to happen), MEL, ATL etc.

My $0.02.

BC

Like the ATL idea or what about DEN ? Frontier would make a great onward partner plus opening up the Rockies for Virgin holidays.

What about spending it on one word .... consistency .... on the fleet and the service [oo]

David

.... but yes, a clubhouse at mco would be great, especially with up to 5 747's a day at peak times this year.

David

[ChuckC]

Originally posted by easygoingeezer
My first instinct would be to improve the conditions in EC and add a few more perks to EC.

UCS seems fine to me, but a reversal of cutbacks would be good.

My second instict would be marketing and overall image, because with my business hat on image is 50% of a sale.

Adding more routes without consolidating the image and service provided is a business mistake in my view.

I would also ditch overseas call centres, scripted responce sheets
and outsorced staff.

Decker,
Great topic. I agree with Egg 100%, particularly the last bit I bolded. Plus what's been said about LAX CH (and give us back our 744 service, please).

In short, VS needs to look 5-10 years into the future, see whether it wants to be the #1 airline in the world, and get about making the investments necessary. Responding here and there with little fixes isn't going to do it.

Chuck-

Originally posted by David
What about spending it on one word .... consistency .... on the fleet and the service [oo]

David

A very good point - consistently good service measured in space, amenities, food, IFE etc. We spend more time in the sky that in a club house, and more people don't see the club house than do so in terms of numbers that's a good priority. So for me:

1. Space and service improvements in econ and PE
2. Standardise V:Port across all planes
3. Food in UC
4. A more rewarding FC structure - even to the point of raising thresholds for Silver and Gold and adding more benefits
5. Routes - ORD, ATL, DEN are good
6. FC miles and points on Virgin America
3.

I'd get out my cheque book, and make a serious offer to purchase BMI's LHR operation, I'd then re-name it Virgin UK, and with the extra slots, I'd go for Bangkok, Melbourne, Vancouver!

I'd do the following:

1) Invest in the staff - best wages, perks and uniforms etc - but also employ quality HR staff and trainers so that the best people are recruited and trained. Good staff support (i.e. enough of them) so that they stay happy in their jobs and therefore are more likely treat the customers well. And that includes all ground staff, especially the cleaners and caterers etc.

2) Involve frequent flyers more in terms of gathering opinions on changes to the service, so that they can feel more valued and then later on experience the benefit of their involvement. Give miles to the people who volunteer to fill in surveys or attend meetings etc.

3) Make economy more like premium economy (but without the champers or whatever) and create a new class for people that want to sleep/have peace and quiet/work - but not to the detriment of UC. Silent class or something.

4) Keep investing in the planes!

I agree broadly with all the comments, but here's my specifics:

1) Consistency - as much as possible, aim for a consistent experience.

2) Premium Economy: Improved meals (e.g. enhanced salad and dessert, switch from plastic presentation to appropriate oven-to-tableware), dedicated PE flight attendant(s) on all aircraft, aim to remove "middle seat" where present in PE (possibly through EOS-alike staggered seating), and do some further seating tweaks (like making the seatbacks thinner, to give more personal space). Consider providing a "Clubhouse Lite" lounge for PE passengers as main VS airports.

3) Economy: Improve seat pitch. Possibly have an "Economy Plus" section with extra leg room for Ag/Au members travelling in Y (like on UA). VS needs to realise that sometimes, even on business, you can end up in the back of the bus. Bring back ice cream (I understand it's been dropped and replaced with a Cadbury's biscuit), and enforce additional refreshment runs, rather than it being at the discretion of the crew.

4) Upper Class: Deal with outstanding wear and tear issues on the UCS - they must be costing VS money in continual minor repairs/tweaks (unless they are pushing the cost of retrofitting/remedial work back onto Britax/Contour). Replace the noisy recline motor and gears in the UCS with a smoother mechanism. Re-work the angling of UCS on Airbus fleet at next refit, and provide some mid-cabin cross passages, to get rid of unpopular "battery farm" effect. Undo as many of the "cost cutting" measures as realistically possible. Introduce "Air Chefs" who are responsible for cooking and presentation of meals on the aircraft, and improve galley equipment as appropriate. Provide a "book the cook" service.

5) In-flight technology: Provide EmPower or 110/230V domestic sockets throughout the aircraft on every aircraft - every seat in UC and PE and at least one socket to every two pax in Y. Install Connexion by Boeing, and provide Internet access both via wi-fi, wired as an option in UC, and via the IFE. Ensure that in-flight technology policies and procedures are more up-to-date.

6) IFE: Standardise (as much as possible) for a single system. Allow skymap and/or nose/tail/belly cameras to be shown on screen during takeoff roll. Drop pre-recorded newsreel.

7) Work on strategic Alliances to connect with VS flights where possible, including decent cross-airline status recognition.

8) Improve on revenue/yield management, allow FC elites to waitlist for upgrades, and allow processing of upgrade rewards online. Also fix broken-ness of FC database so it doesn't forget/need reminding about crediting miles for flights done using a mileage upgrade.

If it were my choice, I would probably want to get at least some of the above done before deploying extra metal to add more destinations. Adding more destinations when the product itself wouldn't say no to some TLC will only produce a dilution effect.

There. That's what Mike's VS would look like!

Mike

All good stuff that, especially about the staff. On your second point, VS do a lot of that already. In fact ir got to the point where I had to ask them to cool off a bit!

Originally posted by mike-smashing

8) Improve on revenue/yield management, allow FC elites to waitlist for upgrades, and allow processing of upgrade rewards online. Also fix broken-ness of FC database so it doesn't forget/need reminding about crediting miles for flights done using a mileage upgrade.

Good point Mike - I like to bash AA but their Web site is possibly the best functionally of all airlines and VS could do with emulating parts of it (like viewing seats before making a booking, saving flights for 48 hours before having to pay/confirm while holding seats).

Slinks

Let's hope we get showers and big bathrooms on the Virgin A380!