Virgin America Airlines: Orange County to SFO starts April 30 (Los Angeles: rental car, rental)

[missionhome]

Virigin America Airlines announced today that it will take slots to begin 5 daily flights between John Wayne Orange County Airport and San Francisco International Airport. The slots come from the end of Aloha Airlines and its three daily flights and Alaska Airlines ending two flights per day.

One way fares will begin at $59, which is $10 less than the introductory fare Southwest recently promoted at $69. It will be interesting to see if SWA matches Virigin America. The market will also be pretty competitive, with 22 flights per day between the two airports.

OC-SFO
United Airlines (7 flights per day)
Southwest (5 flights per day)
Virigin America (5 flights per day)
American Eagle (5 flights per day)
http://ocbiz.freedomblogging.com/200...april-30/8600/

[buckeyenative01]

Alright, fare wars!

Shame Virgin America doesn't want to fly from SNA to PHX...

[skilaketahoe]

I hope they promote Orange County. We're hit with ads from businesses in Canada and Colorado and Utah, but there's very little on anything (apart from Disneyland) in California.

There could be an announcement as early as Feb 1st on

- winning virgin galatic sub orbital flights
- 25,000,000 frequent flyer points to be won
- trips to Australia on vaustralia airline;
- Alaskan flying Virgin's pax to Seattle;
- United and the Virgin Group sharing countries' domestic routes,
- partnering Elevate Rewards with other Rewards;
- bonuses on credit card points sent to Virgin's loyalty scheme;
- promo fares;
- deals with car hirers/renters and hotels.

Thus far on our side of the Pacific, the fare war has reduced fares by nearly 2/3rds. I've got 3 ski trips to the US planned over the next year and then 2 weeks to a month every year for a few years thanks to an Amex promo.

[missionhome]

Fare war has started!

Southwest Airlines dropped its one way ticket price to only $49 each way. It will be a battle of market share between SWA and Virgin America. It will be interesting to see if United and American have enough frequent flier members looking for airline miles/points to continue charging their higher prices on the route and still be able to fill the planes. United and American dropped their prices to $69 each way. I could see United cutting two flights to match the others with 5 flights instead of 7.

From the O.C. to San Francisco for $49? - Los Angeles Times

[hsw]

Good to have greater competition for service btwn two major CA business airports...but business travelers are fairly indifferent about fares

And leisure travelers (who may do such a trip 3-4 times/yr max) are prob far more efficient/comfortable (esp if more than one passenger) in blitzing from SiliconValley to Irvine in own car....poor man's private plane w/Bluetooth, iPod, sat radio, massaging seats, etc....depart per own sched from own home w/o wasted time at airports; plenty of room and comfort (esp if one drives a new Merc S/CL); no strip/body cavity search, avoid proximity to lots of obese people w/inevitable hygiene issues, no lost luggage....

Most live in various suburbs far from airports...and need a car once one lands anyway...cabs, limos and rental cars universally suck and tend to be rather unsafe vs driving own new car of choice, esp for discretionary leisure travel

[skilaketahoe]

There'll be bucketloads of frequent flyer points.

Amex was handing out 1,000 points per $5 of transactions over Sept, Oct, Nov & December. V are expected to offer bucketloads soon. Qantas is rewarding shoppers at chain stores and gas stations. For 94,000 points I can go, return, Sydney-LAX or SFO. Or Sydney-Honalulu to Sacramento or to OC or Vegas. (And I think there will be inducements soon for Americans to cross the ditch to Oz).

Any OC Chambers of Commerce should start promoting the OC area: we only know of a t.v high school from The OC.

[buckeyenative01]

Problem with John Wayne is that its not an international airport. LAX and Ontario are, but not SNA. I don't know what the FAA or state guidelines determine when an airport is international or not (Yuma, for example, has an international airport).

The other problem is SNA's runway is ridiculously short (IIRC, the shortest of all commercial airports in the country) and nothing larger than a Boeing 757 can fly in/out of there. That, and the awful "noise abatement takeoff" when departing over Newport Beach (some people love it, I personally hate it but I'm a nervous flyer). I can't begin to imagine the complaints from the Newport millionaires if 747s, 767s and A300s started landing/taking off from John Wayne...

[skilaketahoe]

Hopefully the international and domestic fare wars bring tourist dollars into OC.

I've already booked three trips to Tahoe over the next 12 months

[skilaketahoe]

Amex staff tell me Virgin's Australian arm will be offering 25% bonuses on reward points transferred to Velocity.

And Amex US is transferring bucketloads of bonus points to Australians who enrolled in several promos which awarded (from the sounds of things) 1 return flight a month to LA. Add 25% 'bonuses on the bonuses' and ... ker'ching: tourists off to Disneyland. Hopefully more of the OC area is promoted 'down under' or those dollars will be moving quickly from Disney's coffers to businesses in Hollywood.