VA can take all the cash they can carry, but if they continue to lose money month after month, eventually the investors will stop being so generous.

I think they'll be gone within two years.

Nevermind. My question was answered on another thread. VA lost $35 million dollars in Q3 2007. That is pretty crazy considering they only operated during 1/2 the quarter (they started Aug 8 IIRC). That is even scarier when you consider that the 3rd quarter is typically one of the most profitable quarters for airlines. And even scarier considering that oil averaged about $75/barrel in 3Q 2007. And now is over $110/barrel.

I am very interested to see the 4Q 2007 numbers. It sounds to me like VA could burn through that $100 million dollars in a few months if they keep operating the way they have.

Happened before. Check out Virgin Express. Branson isn't King Midas.

THey don't expect to be profitable for some time...

We are expecting to be profitable in 2010 with $110 / barrel oil. As for the $100 million inject that was given to us not out of actual need but to allow us to get better financing on the next few aircraft we get. Thats straight from the CEO 30 mins ago.

Bob McAdoo used to work with a certain Jonathan Ornstein at Virgin Express and later at Mesa Airlines with the same JO. It seems that things didn't go well for them in Europe and Bob not surprisingly isn't to keen on the Virgin brand. He is keen on the Mesa brand which makes his opinions suspect to me at best.

I have never heard of Virgin express but if you guys want to talk about the performance of virgin brand than why not talk about the excellent service and the performance of Virgin Atlantic.:)and Virgin America is also following their foot steps.And who is this character Bob from Mesa anyways,how does he and Mesa come in the pic.

Virgin America is here to stay so get used to it and instead of predicting doom for them praise them for providing a better service which unfortunately is not offered by any other US carrier.

I think VX is doing what I've said this country needed all along.. a return to basics. Customers first.. We've gone from the good 'ol days of flying in the 60's and 70's with great service, smiling "Stewardesses" and good food, to a bag of peanuts and a "Sit down shut up, and buckle up" "we're here only for your safety" culture.. You can take care of safety and do it without being so upfront about it and paint a smile on it.. that's been lost on todays airline employee. I respect this return to basic service. I think when the economy turns, should VX be able to weather it (and I think with the help of Sir Richard, they will), they'll be a strong alternative for the public.

Not to mention, their fares are great, and the interiors with the amenities are second to none here in the US.

Check out the first post on this thread.

There is no airline currently operating that isn't expecting to be profitable in 2010. None. There cannot be a more useless forecast than that one, sorry.

Its hard for me to imagine that investors injected 100 mil for any other reason than the struggling start-up carrier needed it. That said, despite seeing no end to the cash drain at VA, it is very impressive to hear another 100 mil being thrown into the fire. Of course, the strings that come attached to that money may not permit it to be pumped into the wings of the fleet which begs the question again: How much more pain can VA, Spirit, JetBlue, and any other carrier not owned and fueled by a sheik or sitting on a very large pile of cash take?

VA, being privately held, is certainly not going to be open enough to give the gorilla sized competition a clear picture on how much blood is left to be bled and will adopt any and all posturing it can to appear unbleedable. The runaway fuel costs have dictated the game and no amount of IFE can change the rules of the game currently being played, which is: Who can stand on one foot and bleed the longest?

I dig the IFE, the attitude, and the good kool-aid and if this industry made sense those attributes would prevail. Unfortunately, and especially with runaway fuel costs, the big gorilla you compete with knows its all about being able to stand on one foot, and leak.