VBA

No upcoming ex-dividends are scheduled in the sharemarket world on Wednesday, November 23, 2011. On the other hand, there will be an Extraordinary General Meeting, two floats and several Annual General Meetings scheduled on the said day.

Float

Qantas (ASX:QAN) shares drop as Virgin Australia (ASX:VBA) enters a long-term partnership with Singapore Airlines. With the joint venture - which still requires regulatory approval - Virgin will gain access to more than 70 destinations worldwide, while Singapore will get access to 30 on its network.

Flight routes will be shared between Virgin Australia (ASX:VBA) and Singapore Airlines, Virgin announced yesterday in a trump move against Qantas. Virgin and SIA signed an agreement that would join Virgin's routes with Singapore Airline's network.

In line with its recent upgrades, Virgin Australia (ASX:VBA) is now offering a 300-seat lounge. The new offering was unveiled on Monday, designed to offer a welcoming environment that will enable flyers to experience the best of the airline's products on the ground.

As part of its new fare scheme, Virgin Australia (ASX:VBA) is offering flyers the privilege to cancel their flights up to 24 hours after its scheduled departure. According to a spokesman, the move is part of the airline's plan to boost availability of all fare types to meet customer complaints that the cheaper fares sell too quickly.

As part of a move to boost sales, Virgin Australia (ASX:VBA) streamlines its fare types to three. The new fares are called saver, flexi, and premium. For the first time, offers include food in the economy class.

Virgin Australia (ASX:VBA) may include A330 international services to boost its fleet. The airline has two A330s from Emirates to be used for its Sydney-Perth services. Two more aircraft will be acquired and upgraded to suit the airline's new business class.

Two planes will arrive by 2012-13 from Emirates. Chief executive John Borghetti said that with the current plans, it will be operated domestically.

A turnaround by the US department enables Virgin Australia (former Virgin Blue) (ASX:VBA) to expand its network. The company forms an alliance with Delta Airlines to better compete with Qantas on the business travel market.

Virgin Blue (ASX:VBA) rebrands itself as Virgin Australia. Owner Richard Branson, along with John Borghetti, will unveil a new two class Boeing 737, new business class and its new name in Sydney later.

The new branding campaign aims to boost its share in the business class market from 12 to 20 percent. Hans Hulsbosch, the man commissioned by Qantas to enhance its flying kangaroo, was chosen by Virgin to do the same work for the airline to attract business flyers.