If 2021 doest happen, will the airlines fold?

[Whoppery5k]

Seriously, I know 2021 is looking precarious at best, but if we don't get to fly out to Florida in 2021... Will their be anyone to even take us in 2022.
Virgin needed bailing out last year. BA have had 2b loan. Norwegian air are struggling to afford to fly from the UK.
So seriously if these airlines have no funds coming in for the whole of 2021 as well as most of 2020. How the hell are they going to survive?
They have to open up before the summer or will have no one to fly us anywhere

[Kraken]

Norwegian have already announced they will not do any more transatlantic flying (the only way they can stay afloat).

If long-haul flying does not resume in 2021 then Virgin's financial situation looks pretty precarious. BA are better placed, but equally they have a much larger fleet / staff-base / cost-base.

Michael O'Leary's [Ryanair CEO] words may come back to haunt some airlines... when he said failing airlines should be allowed to go bust. Pre-pandemic, Ryanair was Europe's biggest airline, with an ultra-low cost base. Love them [Ryanair] or hate them, but they were doing an awful lot right.

[YorkshireT]

Virgin are said to need a huge cash input to keep going through summer and it’s own auditors have already warned of risk of failure. We can’t afford to lose them at Manchester.

[Kraken]

Originally Posted by YorkshireT

Virgin are said to need a huge cash input to keep going through summer and it’s own auditors have already warned of risk of failure. We can’t afford to lose them at Manchester.

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Fully agree - it would be a real shame to see Virgin either go-under completely (please no!) - or - "do a BA" and effectively become Virgin London Airways, i.e. only fly from London.

Pre-pandemic, Virgin saw a lot of potential at Manchester and were expanding there. They have even invested in a fully-fledged Clubhouse Lounge in the new bit of T2 that has yet to open at Manchester to give Upper Class passengers flying from the north the full Virgin experience.

[MarkUK]

I take no pleasure in saying this but I fully expect Virgin to go bust in the next 6 months once the realisation sets in that they won’t be flying again until late 21, early 22

[disney_daddy]

Maybe they should start to think outside the box and offer 2022 flight prices now, paid via direct debit atleast it would be a steady income stream for them.

[Gryff]

I hope not but as we were bored last weekend we did a dummy run hiring a private jet for family both ways to be honest made us really think wha they we’d do if the whole+family were+going came out not much more than business class returns for the number we’d put in

[Orlando 2004]

Originally Posted by Gryff

I hope not but as we were bored last weekend we did a dummy run hiring a private jet for family both ways to be honest made us really think wha they we’d do if the whole+family were+going came out not much more than business class returns for the number we’d put in

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Perhaps you could hire and take a few dibbers too. I know there's been a lot of talk about it over the years and you wouldn't struggle to fill a plane.😂

[KarenG]

If they sadly do, new companies will buy them (perhaps for very little depending on the likelihood of flights restarting in earnest).

The profit margins are small and the cost of maintaining the assets high I’d imagine. But any business is worth buying at the right price.

(To be clear, I don’t WANT this to happen!)

[Gryff]

Honestly we were shocked and it’s certainly something we will look into for big family trips
Probably not cost effective for those that need hotel accommodation but/if hiring a big villa for a wedding party or big family trip might just be worth looking at
I know we will