This is an excerpt from an article in the Age (page 15) dated 17-02-10 explaining a little about expected timeframes for the Virgin-Delta JV and the importance that it gets the go ahead.
Thought it might be of interest:
"HOT on the heels of Virgin Blue's recent profit upgrade, aviation watchers are seeing positives for the airline from the success of American Airlines and British Airways in winning tentative permission from the US Department of Transportation to deepen their trans-Atlantic alliance, pooling flights into London's Heathrow Airport.
Virgin Blue's long-haul offshoot, V Australia, is awaiting a ruling from US authorities on its planned tie-up with Delta Air Lines. Under the proposed deal, which has already received the blessing of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, the airlines will co-ordinate on several fronts, including pricing and revenue management, and sales and marketing.
Approval for the Delta tie-up is a critical issue for Virgin Blue because V Australia has been haemorrhaging on the Pacific route since it launched services a year ago. A stalemate over the long running BA-American Airlines alliance application had been regarded by many as an impediment to consummation of the proposed Delta-Virgin relationship as the two situations have many shared characteristics.
Despite recent progress, investors shouldn't hold their breath. Virgin Blue has previously indicated that any decision from the transport department is not expected until June.
More immediately, Virgin Blue shareholders will be looking for an update on senior management succession planning when the company reports half-year results on February 24. Naming a replacement for outgoing chief executive Brett Godfrey has been a long time coming."
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