Yet another aviation thread.

Quote: Nareed

Me, I'd place my orders, if any, and let VA owe Airbus money. Why help out a competitor?

A350-800 $275.1 (270 seats typical)
A350-900 $311.2 (314 seats typical)
A350-1000 $359.3 (350 seats typical)
A380 $436.9 (469 seats BA configuration)

Not as a courtesy, but for financial renumeration. For example, if VA bought the planes for $436.9 million apiece, maybe BA could buy the planes for $359.3 million and VA would pay the penalty.

Quote: Pacomartin

Not as a courtesy, but for financial renumeration. For example, if VA bought the planes for $436.9 million apiece, maybe BA could buy the planes for $359.3 million and VA would pay the penalty.

Ok, but if VA pays the penalty, what's in it for them? Now they're helping their competitor.

At this point, though, if the A380 is to survive as more than a one-airline plane long term, I'm betting they'll offer very favorable terms to BA. Especially as BA should be dangling the prospect of a few 747-8s instead.

Nitpicking but VA = Virgin Australia. Virgin Atlantic = VS.

Quote: terapined

Regarding Australia
Virgin Australia is really growing.
Had a client that needed business class from HSV to PER roundtrip
VA partners with Delta and the price and times worked out great.
Delta to the west coast to change to Virgin Australia

I flew VA BNE-LAX back in 2010. The economy product was good enough if that’s the class you were wanting. I would have no problems flying them again if the right circumstances arose. The only negative I had was the breakfast prior to landing in LAX. Quite easily the worst scrambled eggs & mushrooms I’ve ever had. Yes I know they were powdered eggs but that is the point. Lol

It was said, and I'm not sure correctly, in my thread on my Aruba trip fiasco that a plane can't fly with any luggage belonging to a passenger not on the plane. You may recall this was probably an issue with passengers leaving a flight intended for Fort Lauderdale early in Orlando.

I have a journey from Paris to Las Vegas all booked. It necessitates a seven-hour layover in San Francisco. Here is my question -- What would happen if I just hopped on a flight on another airline from SF to Vegas, to avoid the seven-hour layover? It must happen all the time with connections that people fall asleep or miss them for other reasons. Never once have I heard an announcement like, "I'm sorry, we can't leave because a particular passenger didn't board but his luggage is in the cargo hold somewhere." This must happen all the time with long security lines. This speaks to my skepticism of the remark made in the Aruba thread.

Thanks for any help and advice.

Quote: Wizard

I Here is my question -- What would happen if I just hopped on a flight on another airline from SF to Vegas, to avoid the seven-hour layover?.

Nothing will happen
My clients do it all the time.
Just make sure the flight you are noshowing for is your last flight
Don't do this in the beginning or middle of a trip.
Any time you noshow for a flight, everything down line and return are canceled.

Quote: terapined

Nothing will happen
My clients do it all the time.
Just make sure the flight you are noshowing for is your last flight
Don't do this in the beginning or middle of a trip.
Any time you noshow for a flight, everything down line and return are canceled.

Thanks. One reason against doing this is I'll have to get my check-in bag somehow in Vegas. I live quite a ways from the airport. In a perfect world, I would hope the airline would notice I never picked up the bag in Vegas and hold it in the baggage office for a while. However, what happens in an imperfect world?

Quote: Wizard

I have a journey from Paris to Las Vegas all booked. It necessitates a seven-hour layover in San Francisco.

What airline are you flying? United has a 80 minute layover in SFO.

9:10am to 11:30am 11h 20m Paris to San Francisco Roissy-Charles de Gaulle (CDG) to San Francisco Intl. (SFO) United 984
layover 80 minute San Francisco (SFO)
12:50pm to 2:29pm 1h 39m San Francisco to Las Vegas San Francisco Intl. (SFO) to McCarran Intl. (LAS) United 492

I suspect it is one of those questions where the best decision is to act now and apologize later.

I knew a guy who asked if he could depart early in the return direction at an intermediate stop since it was actually more convenient for him. He figured that there was no harm as he had carry on luggage, and it didn't matter if the plane flew one leg with an empty seat that he had already paid for. The airline freaked out and said they were going to watch his seat and arrest him (or something) if he tried to get off the plane. He took a chance and disembarked anyway. Nobody caught him or telephoned him later.

Logic would say that you shouldn't have any gifts or valuable in your luggage in case they blow it up. The paranoid person in me would say you are marking yourself for a computer DHS search if you book two flights for that segment.

But if you get off the plane with your valuables in a carry on, and buy a Frontier airline ticket on the spot, I should think you would be OK.

Quote: Wizard

Never once have I heard an announcement like, "I'm sorry, we can't leave because a particular passenger didn't board but his luggage is in the cargo hold somewhere." This must happen all the time with long security lines. This speaks to my skepticism of the remark made in the Aruba thread.

I've heard that kind of announcement several times.

It was more common from the mid-80s through the 90s. Remember Pan Am 103 was brought down by a bomb in the luggage of a passenger who didn't board the flight.

Quote: Wizard

I have a journey from Paris to Las Vegas all booked. It necessitates a seven-hour layover in San Francisco.

I'm still trying to figure out how you could have such a bad connection. A seven hour layover and a 90 minute flight is 8.5 hours.
According to google maps it is an 8.5 hour drive from SFO to LAS.

The bottom line is that in any given 7 hour layover the odds of someone not checking in has to be fairly high. Statistically if you did that daily in any given week someone got drunk and is lying in a bathroom stall.

So I have to believe that they don't go to the plane and pull off that person's luggage when he doesn't check in 20 minute before takeoff.

Personally, I have seen my luggage fly away without me when I was bumped off a plane.

At the same time, I also believe that DHS is instituting the kind of database cross checks to see if a person is booked on two different flights. It would be a natural place to look for potential bombers.