VS skint, yet Monarch can be much cheaper

I was in a discussion last night over the ever increasing cost of flying to Grenada, & Monarch no longer stopping here en route to Tobago.
My VS flight to Grenada this time would have been over £600 without the miles, & that was 'cheap'.
Yet I looked at Monarch this morning & rtn flights to Tobago are still available under £430, which is roughly what it used to cost to get off in Grenada 90 odd miles 'up the road' 3 years ago.
Now the story at the time was that Monarch were owed money by Grenada for dropping us off here, had lost patience, & delivered the 'pay up or else' ultimatum. How true this is I do not know.
But if Monarch can still fly to Tobago & back & charge between £130 & £200 less than (supposed) loss-making VS, then either Monarch receive a whopping kick-back for disgorging their passengers at Tobago, they are funded by a benefactor with bottom-less pockets, or??
You don't have to tell me I know b'all about how airlines are run (all on creative leasing schemes I imagine) because I know that, but something doesn't add up & it is hurting my value-seeking wallet.
All insight appreciated, & thxs for reading my way too lengthy, (sorry) waffle.



Edit to post by mod ..... VA changed to VS to prevent confusion.....NIck

"Edit to post by mod ..... VA changed to VS to prevent confusion.....NIck"

Well I am still confused ! VA/VS would have been the least of it !

£83 of that ticket price is APD. And without ATC/Airport costs I would expect the £430 fare to be a loss making one for Monarch

Monarch pack far more passengers in the same space and their offering is far lower than VS and BA, the food quality is not the best(neither is VS) the seat pitch is awful, their premium service is just not on par, last time I flew, pre take off was just plastic OJ and water couplets stacked three deep on a tray. They also charge for drinks which offsets some costs. We don't know what their other costs are- their crews may stop in more expensive hotels, be paid more.

Charters have a different way of selling seats than airlines.
They have contracts/guarantees signed at the start of the season, so anything unsold doesn't necessarily have to be at a profitable price.

Additionally, Monarch is a special case. They have a very rich family backing them and are more stable than many other airlines.

Charters have a different way of selling seats than airlines.
They have contracts/guarantees signed at the start of the season, so anything unsold doesn't necessarily have to be at a profitable price.

Additionally, Monarch is a special case. They have a very rich family backing them and are more stable than many other airlines.

I thought Monarch wasn't a charter...it claims to be a a 'scheduled' airline on their website.

Monarch are both, the ZB flights are the scheduled ones.

Monarch pack far more passengers in the same space

Really? I'm 6' 3" & the legroom seems the same. So how do they do it, & how many is "far more"?

their premium service is just not on par,

Monarch's 'premium' is priced close to VS's 'economy'.

....................................
Just found some Monarch LGW-TAB rtn flights for £407.50

Just comparing virgins A333 and Monarchs A332 which is smaller and has 60 more seats than Virgins two class A333

Just comparing virgins A333 and Monarchs A332 which is smaller and has 60 more seats than Virgins two class A333

60!! Thxs. I was puzzled because the legroom in economy seems to be the same; i.e. acceptable, (unlike for example the now French-influenced KLM).
So in economy I get steam VHS movies for the masses,(or did two years ago), instead of seat back channels, & lose out on a couple of drinks, but save £150 to £200 each; (or would if Monarch had not abandoned Grenada). I know which I would choose.

Perhaps virgin have seen the error of their ways and leave the loss making to the lesser airlines

^ You could well be right.

Having come across - http://pitcherblog.dailymail.co.uk/2012/11/an-open-letter-to-fabio-mantegazza-owner-of-monarch-airlines-from-one-passenger-who-can-answer-back.html - I would like to apologise for starting this thread, & will endeavour to be less of a tight **** in future.

^ You could well be right.

Having come across - http://pitcherblog.dailymail.co.uk/2012/11/an-open-letter-to-fabio-mantegazza-owner-of-monarch-airlines-from-one-passenger-who-can-answer-back.html - I would like to apologise for starting this thread, & will endeavour to be less of a tight **** in future.

Lol. Start lots of threads please!

It's actually good to get the thinking caps on!