I was not planning on starting such a vague topic as this but news coming out of South America this evening has prompted me to do so.
The last decade or so has seen the expansion of airline alliances, as we well know this is something that VS has avoided. Certain analysts/aviation watchers believe that VS has missed the boat entirely with regards to the alliance game. Suggestions were that VS would always head into *A if they joined an alliance however recent mutterings (especially on a.net) have hinted at a possible Skyteam membership.
However as great as alliances are, I personally think we are about to see a new breed of airline take to the sky. That being the mega carrier (lame name but couldnt think of anything else).
AF-KL have successfully joined forces without eroding either brand. BA/IB are about to do something similar and of course then there is the LH monster of BD/LH/EN/SN/WK/EW/4U/LG/LH Italia/XQ and LX. Over in the States DL and NW have merged and CO and UA are about to do the same. And as of today it seems that the LAN Group and TAM are about to follow the AF/KL model and merge into one company.
If the mega airline is going to be the next decades fad then what are VS going to do? Is it a case of VS will just try to survive as a bit part player, will they themselves think they are large enough to merge with another carrier a la AF/KL style, or will they be absorbed by someone else? Of course with these mega carriers comes less and less slots open to the smaller players (and yes VS is smaller).
Would be interested to hear peoples thoughts.
The last decade or so has seen the expansion of airline alliances, as we well know this is something that VS has avoided. Certain analysts/aviation watchers believe that VS has missed the boat entirely with regards to the alliance game. Suggestions were that VS would always head into *A if they joined an alliance however recent mutterings (especially on a.net) have hinted at a possible Skyteam membership.
However as great as alliances are, I personally think we are about to see a new breed of airline take to the sky. That being the mega carrier (lame name but couldnt think of anything else).
AF-KL have successfully joined forces without eroding either brand. BA/IB are about to do something similar and of course then there is the LH monster of BD/LH/EN/SN/WK/EW/4U/LG/LH Italia/XQ and LX. Over in the States DL and NW have merged and CO and UA are about to do the same. And as of today it seems that the LAN Group and TAM are about to follow the AF/KL model and merge into one company.
If the mega airline is going to be the next decades fad then what are VS going to do? Is it a case of VS will just try to survive as a bit part player, will they themselves think they are large enough to merge with another carrier a la AF/KL style, or will they be absorbed by someone else? Of course with these mega carriers comes less and less slots open to the smaller players (and yes VS is smaller).
Would be interested to hear peoples thoughts.