Virgin Blue Will Defy Ansett's Attempt to Block Low Fare Competition

Virgin Blue confirmed today that it would not cancel any of its flights despite Ansett's endeavour to stifle competition by the withdrawal of terminal access without warning and within 24 hours of the start of new services.

The move, which demonstrates behaviour not seen since the days of Compass, has forced Virgin Blue to call out extra staff to prepare for manual boarding and baggage handling processes at both Launceston and Canberra to insure any delays to passengers are minimised.

Ansett's sudden action comes on the eve of the launch of Virgin Blue's first flight between Canberra and Melbourne and the addition of a second daily service between Launceston and Melbourne.

While Virgin Blue acknowledges that no formal contract had been finalised, Virgin Blue’s long standing use of Ansett facilities and the lack of any indication to the contrary, led Virgin Blue to believe that Ansett would continue to honour standard industry practices.

Virgin Blue Chief Executive Brett Godfrey stated "Since these facilities are virtually unutilised, this clearly reflects a policy that is solely focused on damaging people's travel plans at the last moment. We believe an airline should be looking at how to get passengers on its own flights instead of trying to inconvenience those who chose to travel with another carrier. In any case, it shows that a company that has proclaimed to be 'Flying for Australia' is in fact only focused on being vindictive and clearly not acting very Australian.”

Brett Godfrey added, "For all Tesna's talk about being ‘the spirit of competition’, clearly this view doesn't apply to the routes they fly. If their business plan requires Australia to return to the traditional airline environment where low fare operators are stifled while high priced duopoly rips off the travelling public, they may be disappointed since Virgin Blue will be around for a lot longer than Compass".

He concluded by noting, "It is unheard of for an Administrator to be turning away the tens of thousands of dollars we were expecting to pay for terminal access between now and January 31. Clearly the creditors as well as the staff who hope to receive more than their minimum entitlements need to start asking just how many millions of dollars has Ansett lost or is expecting to lose in the next two months?"

Virgin Blue hired hundreds of staff since the collapse of Ansett, with a large percentage of recent intakes including former Ansett employees.

The airline has also signed numerous corporate contracts with former Ansett key accounts left stranded by the airline's collapse.

Virgin Blue has faced a variety of challenges since day 1 and the company is confident that it will overcome this one in the same way it has done with the others. The airline has always stated that Australia can support three well-run airlines that are focused on their customers and operate in the spirit of fair competition that exists elsewhere.

The airline will spend the next 24 hours focusing on taking measures to ensure that all of its guests are provided with Virgin Blue's award winning service and minimal delays to their travel plans.

In light of the special situation, Virgin Blue ask guests to try and check-in 60 minutes prior to departure to ensure an on-time departure.

Virgin Blue, Australia’s only true low fare airline, will be servicing every state and territory by Christmas, with its fleet of brand new Next Generation Boeing 737 aircraft.