Viva Macau Suspended Operation

[Andrew P]

CX (with KA) run 18 flights a day TPE - HKG, and 4 from KHH, and most of this traffic is only in transit to the mainland

[Arthur T]

Originally Posted by Andrew P

CX (with KA) run 18 flights a day TPE - HKG, and 4 from KHH, and most of this traffic is only in transit to the mainland

Whilst a large number of flights serves for connection to the mainland, there are still a large number of passengers taking CX/KA from Taiwan to other SE Asian and European destinations, since those from Taiwan is limited.

[Will H]

Originally Posted by Michael Cleary

I hope they are not depending on that now, given the number of direct flights between Taiwan and the Mainland these days.

Exactly. But Air Macau hopes and reality are different.

[Ryan K.]

Originally Posted by Will H

Arthur,
As others have already indicated, debating the existence of LCCs is not going to go far.

What we do need to consider is the cause of the situation, and I'm not satisfied with the reports we have at present.

I have not yet seen Australian Aviation's article, but I wrote a feature article about Viva Macau in 2009. What stood out to me (and continues to as I talk to people at the carrier) is the regulatory constraints. Air Macau has given Viva non-retractable permission to fly to a handful of B-list destinations. Other destinations--Sydney, Tokyo--are at Air Macau's discretion.

Viva wanted to fly to SIN and Air Macau rejected them, even though Air Macau did not and still does not fly to SIN. Subsequently Macau carriers lost the SIN market to Tiger etc.

Air Macau is a story within itself, but I would not be surprised to hear there was politicking to force this action on Viva.

We've never gotten insight into why the original CEO left and why his replacement Con Korfiatis left last year.

The Airways article is severely mis-informed.

Viva is not out to provide an alternative to expensive HKG and CX. Viva aims to promote Macau, not "snaring peanut-paying passengers from its neighboring city Hong Kong".

As for Viva competing with CX, I don't see validity in that. If you want to go to Macau and fly CX, you'll have to go HKG, go into the city, and then take the ferry.

Moreover, until Air Macau started (or is supposed to start) flying to NRT, Viva is the only carrier flying the routes it does. It has no other direct competition.

Macau's future is on tourism, and Viva aims to support that. Air Macau, however, has shown itself interested in funneling passengers from Taiwan to mainland China, and not being Macau's airline. The business community in Macau understands they need an airline committed to Macau as a destination and not Macau as a transit point.

I would be very, very surprised to see this be Viva's end.

Will, I guess it saids it all when the government is not backing on the airline anymore...if you do a search on google, you can find a handful of articles regarding this news...
I guess the macau government or should I say Mr. Stanley Ho would have to come up with a new company with better airline executives to run the show if the city do "require" an airline for the tourism industry...and that airline should be independent of Air Macau "if possible"

[Robert S]

Originally Posted by Arthur T

Finally, the collapse of Viva Macau further illustrates budget carrier will collapse at some point and will never work. Hence I would say it'd be better for Virgin Blue, Pacific Blue, JetStar and Tiger Airways to stop adopting those stupid budget model now and change to high cost luxious model (including free 32KG luggage, 2-3 course meals, Free AVOD and a decent 50" seat width and 38" seat pitch minimum for all passengers) or else you all are risking yourself from collapsing and winding up yourself.

Okay and then

http://www.asx.com.au/asxpdf/2010022...kqhqgymmq5.pdf

Originally Posted by Virgin Blue

SYDNEY 24 February 2010: Virgin Blue Holdings Limited today reported a net profit after tax of $62.5 million for the six months to 31 December 2009

No further comment required.

[Andrew Ewen]

http://www.flightglobal.com/articles...n-2-april.html

I guess that Easter is probably the best time of year to try to stage a comeback from the dead ( after all , there is a precedent ) , but I doubt very much that they will be able to get peoples confidence back .

[Justin L]

Originally Posted by Will H

If you want to go to Macau and fly CX, you'll have to go HKG, go into the city, and then take the ferry.

You can actually take a ferry to Macau (as well as many other Pearl River Delta destinations in China) direct from Hong Kong Airport, albeit the number of ferries from the airport to Macau are less than from Hong Kong Central or Kowloon.

[Will H]

Originally Posted by Ryan K.

Will, I guess it saids it all when the government is not backing on the airline anymore...if you do a search on google, you can find a handful of articles regarding this news...
I guess the macau government or should I say Mr. Stanley Ho would have to come up with a new company with better airline executives to run the show if the city do "require" an airline for the tourism industry...and that airline should be independent of Air Macau "if possible"

One might argue the government wasn't really supportive to begin with.

As for the articles, up until yesterday they all said the same thing. Now that Viva has issued a statement and is commenting, news is starting to trickle out.

[D Chan]

Originally Posted by Justin Lazaroff

You can actually take a ferry to Macau (as well as many other Pearl River Delta destinations in China) direct from Hong Kong Airport, albeit the number of ferries from the airport to Macau are less than from Hong Kong Central or Kowloon.

confirming what you've said I actually know some who have done this. For me it's too much of a hassle but it's possible to save around 500-600 dollars

[Will H]

Looks like Viva is giving up.

As a direct result of the revocation of the Viva Macau Air Operator’s Certificate (AOC) – a globally unprecedented event in international aviation – Viva Macau is now seeking legal advice for an orderly and responsible winding down of the business.

http://www.flyvivamacau.com/au/en/pr...office-closure