Suborbital flights and normal air travels in one hand?

There's an interesting threat under "Public Perception of Orivate Space Travel" asking for how much one would pay for a flight.

Now the current reported prices for suborbital flights are between 200,000 $ (Branson for the first flights) and 7,000 $ (an early raw estimation by Rutan long before the two official XPRIZE flights of SSO). But all these prices are based on stand-alone offers of suborbital flights.

How are the chances that suborbital flights will be offered by a normal airline? As if Branson wouldn't have founded Virgin Galactic but would make Virgin Atlantic Airlines (?) offer suborbital flight's? In this case cross-financing and cross-subventioning could reduce the suborbital prices a lot more perhaps.



Dipl.-Volkswirt (bdvb) Augustin (Political Economist)

I don't see very many airlines being willing to do what Branson's doing. For one thing, Branson has the resources to eat the entire company if it goes under, and not be significantly hurt. Airlines like Delta, on the other hand, have stockholders to answer to. And stockholders really really really *REALLY* don't like ventures as risky as this one (as in, if you're actually dumb enough to bring it up at the board meeting, they'll hand you your pink slip as you leave).

It'll start with independent ventures and guys like Branson. Then, once most of it is proven and very very boring, the spacelines and the airlines will merge (as to who buys who, it's anybody's guess).

Alright - economic reasons I'm familiar to.

The point that caused my thoughts and questions is that Branson founded a new company to offer touristic suborbital flights instead of diversifying his existing company into this business.

He will have good reasons to do so butI suppose he could offer the space flights at lower prices already if he would diversify only right now. Branson's firms seem to have only one stockholder: Branson.

Are there chances that Branson will make his two enterprises one firm later to reduce the suborbital prices? 2010 perhaps?



Dipl.-Volkswirt (bdvb) Augustin (Political Economist)

Nope, the set up of VG was a demand for not risking other Virgin enterprises.

Alright again - there are very much risks in offering suborbital flights today. But the market will mature.

Once the flights will start in 2008 we will see wether the people registered will do their flights. And we will see wether the interest in suborbital flights will keep a certain level for let's say five years. If so than the current risks will be reduced to normal high levels.

2010 as a date for possible integration of suborbital flights into airlines - Virgin Galactic into Virgin Atlantic - was a number only to indicate a time period in the nearby future. The date 2008 as the beginning of real touristic flights requires a shift from 2010 to 2015 as the earliest date of possibe integration.





Dipl.-Volkswirt (bdvb) Augustin (Political Economist)