Ordinary Gweilo

I have to admit that I’m still intrigued by Oasis.  Here’s an interesting quote (in The Australian):

Stephen Miller, chief executive of Oasis, said: “Where are traditional carriers most vulnerable? They are vulnerable at the front (of the aircraft).”

I think that’s correct (and I’ve been arguing that for a long time).  This summer, Cathay and Virgin were offering discounted business class fares in July and August, and that must partially be a response to Oasis.

I have flown Oasis, and I have to say that their Business Class cabin is very good indeed (certainly for the price I paid), with masses of legroom and excellent service.  The food is OK for the prices they charge, but not as good as Cathy or Virgin.

Less positively, the in-flight entertainment is quite poor (though you could buy a portable DVD player and a stack of DVDs with the money you save compared to flying Business Class with Virgin, Cathay or BA), and the lounge they use at Gatwick gets very crowded and has very little food available.  The CNAC lounge in Hong Kong is better – basic, but with hot food and certainly not crowded.

Those are small drawbacks, and for the price it really does provide an attractive alternative to the traditional carriers. 

They must be doing well, because they are now adding an extra flight to London 3 days a week. It’s an afternoon departure, arriving at Gatwick in the early evening.  They say that the timing is in response to popular demand, but I have my doubts about that – it seems more likely that was the only slot they could get (or that if fits better with their flight schedule).  Long haul daytime flights are not something I have ever enjoyed.

Another sign that Oasis are on the up is that they are making their special offers less attractive.  The ‘buy one, get one free’ offer in Business Class now only applies if you buy a more expensive ticket (HK$13,800 one way), and they have got to be, er, kidding with the ‘kids go free’ offer, which requires the purchase of a return ticket at HK$29,000 (in business class) or HK$5,180 (economy).  On top of that you need to pay taxes and surcharges on both the paid and free tickets.  Not terribly attractive, I feel.    

Meanwhile, Virgin’s phantom 2nd daily flight to London seems to have completely disappeared from their website, though I suppose it might happen one day,  presumably if they ever start flying to Melbourne as well as Sydney.