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Friday, October 17, 2014

Re 1 is not on Flipkart alone ... Virgin Australia buys Tiger Airways for A$1

Did you make any online purchase during billionday deal of Flipkart, did you make one at Amazon India’s  Diwali dhamaka and Snapdeal low prices ….many have reported compulsive disorders in searching for good deals and making purchases online ………..  when Flipkart sale opened there was ‘Crazy sale’ – where some were sold for Re.1 and ridiculously low prices – not sure, whether any of my friends succeeded in that – as most ended frustrated only !

Virgin Australia Airlines, formerly Virgin Blue Airlines, is Australia's second-largest airline as well as the largest by fleet size to use the Virgin brand. Now based in Bowen Hills, Brisbane, the airline was co-founded by British businessman Richard Branson, the founder of parent Virgin Group and former Virgin Blue CEO Brett Godfrey. It was established in 2000 with two aircraft operating on a single route, and suddenly found itself catapulted to the position of Australia's second airline after the collapse of Ansett Australia in September 2001.

Tiger Airways Australia Pty Ltd, operating as Tigerair Australia, is an Australian low-cost airline. It commenced services in the Australian domestic airline market in Nov  2007 as Tiger Airways Australia. It is a joint venture between Tiger Airways Holdings, a Singapore-based company, which is owned partially by Singapore Airlines, and Virgin Australia Holdings. The airline is based in Melbourne, Victoria, with its main base at Melbourne Airport.

Be it Online or local Supermarkets – crazy deals are not new or something outrightly crazy ideas.  In Sept. 2013, when prices of onions were skyrocketing and providing headache for Government,  Groupon offered a kilogram of onions at Rs 9 for 3,000 buyers each day.  We wondered how someone could sell at such a lowly –  a price of earlier decade  and would somebody make a deliberate loss ???? …. It wasn’t to be.  Groupon actually made a killing through their digital marketing campaign, captured thousands of new customers and amplified their customer base at around half the cost of a digital marketing campaign. It took only 44 minutes to sell the first 3,000 kilograms of onions,  according to analysts.  The day this deal went live, the total Google searches for Groupon jumped by 400 percent in a single day. Within six days, Groupon has 22,727 transactions on their website and since each transaction mandates a registration, they would have generated over than 15,000 new customer registrations. Who says onions only bring tears to the eyes? That is digital marketing and creative thinking ! ~

A couple of months ago,  Virgin Australia was in news  stating  travellers on Qantas and Virgin Australia will be able to use their mobile phones and other electronic devices during flights from Tuesday. The rule was applicable to international and domestic passengers flying the two Australian airlines. Passengers were previously asked to switch off these types of devices during flights for safety reasons. In Aug this year there was news that  Virgin Australia Holdings had posted an after-tax loss of A$355.6m ($332.6m; £200.5m) for the full year ending in June. The result was more than triple the firm's previous year's loss of A$98.1m. The carrier blamed weak consumer sentiment, overcapacity in the market and carbon tax costs for the loss. The carrier, which is Australia's second largest behind Qantas, said ongoing uncertainty around the economy had also contributed to its full year loss and that it would not provide a forecast for the following financial year.

………….. the crazy deal ………. (honestly I do not understand !) of the day as reported in BBC is : Virgin Australia will buyout loss-making budget carrier Tiger Airways Australia for A$1 (£0.54) (Rs.53.84). It would take full control of Tiger Airways from its current 60% stake in an effort to speed up a turnaround.

"We will benefit from the economies of scale and achieve profitability ahead of schedule by the end of 2016," said chief executive John Borghetti. Virgin bought its first stake in the venture from Singapore's Tiger Airways for A$35m last year. Tiger Airways, however, has struggled to win customers in a slumping domestic market. The takeover, subject to regulatory approval, is expected to be completed by the end of this year, Virgin said.

With regards – S. Sampathkumar
17th Oct 2014
News courtesy : BBC


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