Inside Virgin America’s “Stay Golden” launch event (photos)

by Stephen Greenwood on

I looked around and tried to absorb what was unfolding before me.

VIP’s and Virgin employees mingled on the patio of the beachfront W Fort Lauderdale. Nearby, a reality TV crew set up a shot for a new series about the lives of Virgin America flight attendants. Lights and loud music infiltrated the senses. It was a perfect backdrop for television, even though it didn’t quite feel like reality.

And in a sense, it wasn’t reality; but merely a splash of Richard Branson’s reality.

Then, somewhere between the gold-suited synchronized swimmers, the beverages sprinkled with gold, and the musical performance from Santigold, it hit me: Virgin America is dedicated to (and very good at) one thing. They design brilliant experiences… and in their world, there’s no such thing as overindulgence.

The morning started with an early but high-energy flight out of San Francisco with press, contest winners, and CEO David Cush all onboard. I stepped into the cabin of the A319 and immediately appreciated the attention to detail in the environment.

Stylish mood lighting. Glossy white plastic seatbacks. Bright touchscreens. AC outlets at every seat. Fast (and temporarily free) wifi. I think I even overheard someone say “It’s like flying inside of an iPod!”.

Even the safety video was creative and entertaining; and apparently so different from the standard that the FAA had a hard time approving it. To me, that says it all. Virgin America knew from the beginning what type of experience they wanted to offer, and has executed that vision despite strict regulations and an unfavorable market.

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As the day went on, it soon became clear that the favorite buzzword was “startup”. Anybody from the company speaking about the airline referred to it as a startup, because it’s truly their advantage over the competition. They’ve been able to execute this vision by being nimble, building from the ground up, and yet staying in line with the ethos of the Virgin brand.

Many other airlines have fallen short with the in-flight experience because of a lack of vision or a reluctance to invest in overhauling their cabins. VX has done it right, and offers fares at the right price. Which is fine until you go wild with your credit card on the in-flight payment system; all on demand movies, food, and snacks cost a small fee, though live satellite TV and gaming is free.

Upon landing in Fort Lauderdale, our plane was met by Richard Branson and his billion dollar smile, calmly waving from the top of a water-spraying fire truck. It was a completely appropriate reception – why wouldn’t Richard Branson be on top of a fire truck to kick off the launch of two new routes?

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The disembarking was followed by speeches from the CEO, Branson, and FLL Airport authorities expressing their pleasure with Virgin America’s arrival. The tarmac was lined with music, models, press, a large crowd of spectators… and enough Patron for everyone. Nothing but fun.

The energy from the tarmac eventually transferred to the main event, where I had my moment of realization about Virgin America’s brilliance. I almost laughed at the thought of it. Had I ever heard of Jet Blue throwing elaborate parties to celebrate the launch of a new route? No. Is there anyone that could even try to pull this off like Branson could? Not with the same style.

Virgin has the sex appeal that few other corporations can match, and has certainly succeeded at bringing a unique and enjoyable experience to the low-cost domestic market.

Four pieces of great inflight WiFi news from Gogo

by Scott Carmichael on

Inflight Internet provider Aircell released not one, but four different pieces of good news yesterday afternoon. We’ve translated all the PR-speak into the stuff you need to know if you want to stay up to date on the latest developments of Internet in the skies.

American Airlines widget

American Airlines is taking its rollout of the Aircell Gogo inflight service pretty serious – taking a page from the early days of WiFi on Virgin America, American Airlines developed a simple WiFi tracking widget.

The tool allows you to check whether your flight will come equipped with the Gogo inflight Internet service. Of course, the target we all want is that these tools won’t be necessary, and that every flight you get on will have the service, but until then, lets be grateful for this handy widget.
One millionth user

In October, Gogo welcomed its one millionth subscriber. I remember taking one of the first ever Gogo enabled flights last year, and in those 12 months, Aircell installed the Gogo service on over 600 commercial planes.

This is an amazing accomplishment, and to show how fast the growth is – the two million mark will be reached in January 2010. With over 100,000 new users each week, it is pretty obvious that the Gogo inflight service is highly popular.

Buy one get one on AirTran

Gogo customers who purchase an inflight Internet session on AirTran get an early Christmas promo this Holiday season – after buying one session, you’ll get a coupon emailed for a free session.

The promo ends December 31st, and is applied to any Gogo flight pass of $12.95 or less. It is not valid on discounted or free sessions.

Air Canada begins WiFi trials

Starting today, Air Canada will begin a trial offering WiFi on select Toronto-Los Angeles and Montreal-Los Angeles flights. The service only works over the continental US, but with these long flights, that means it’ll be available for the majority of your trip.

The trial lasts till January 29th, and after that period, Air Canada will analyze customer feedback and determine how to proceed with a fleet wide rollout. Eventually, Aircell hopes to extend the reach of their network into Canada using the Canadian ground network licensee.

Passengers to become drivers for Thanksgiving this year

by Tom Johansmeyer on

We aren’t staying at home, but we’re definitely not flying. That’s the word out of AAA this year. Thanksgiving, always a travel-heavy holiday, will see more cars in the road than people crammed at the gate, as travelers respond to the recession and recent increases in airfares.

AAA puts the number of people driving 50 miles or more from home for Thanksgiving at 38.4 million — up 1.4 percent from last year. The number of people traveling by car (regardless of distance) is set to edge 2.1 percent higher. Meanwhile, the number of people taking to the skies is expected to drop a hefty 6.7 percent. The Air Transportation Association sees the passenger count dropping 4 percent, but that’s for the “holiday period,” which stretches from November 20 to December 1. “Economic headwinds” are the primary reason, the ATA says.

The economic situation’s role in the decision to drive versus fly isn’t limited to the change in prices. Airlines have been pushing their fares up for the past few weeks, but for consumers, the decision is based on cost relative to their willingness to spend. Rick Seaney, CEO of FareCompare.com, tells MSNBC, “A leisure traveler might have bought a domestic ticket for $350 last year. Lately, $250 has been the breakpoint; above that, they just weren’t going to buy.”

If your flight looks crowded this year, it’s probably because there aren’t going to be as many planes in the sky. Only 679 billion domestic seat miles will be offered this year, down from last year’s 730 billion, which was already cut from the year before. From 2008 to 2009, the number of available seat miles is off 7 percent.

While the economic climate is certainly a factor, AAA sees other drivers in the trend from wings to wheels. The cut routes and flights, delays and the security gauntlet have all contributed to the decline in Thanksgiving passengers since 2000 of a profound 62 percent. If the airlines didn’t think they had competition for the Thanksgiving season rush, this is an answer that can’t be ignored.

Sneak preview of the girls of the 2010 VivaAerobus calendar!

by Scott Carmichael on

Hard to believe that another year is almost over, but this also means it is time for the 2010 calendars to start showing up at your local mall. Mexican airline VivaAerobus also designs a yearly calendar, and Gadling regulars will remember the gorgeous girls of the 2009 calendar. We even managed to give a bunch of them away to some lucky readers (calendars, not girls)

For 2010, the Mexican low cost carrier once again rounded up their hottest staff members, and took them out on the tarmac for a photo shoot. The calendar will be available soon (to passengers on VivaAerobus), but in the meantime – enjoy this 54 second sneak preview!

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AirTran tries to make money like an internet company

by Tom Johansmeyer on

If they can’t make money taking passengers from one place to another, maybe airlines can harness the power of eyeballs … you know, the way the web does. If you get enough people passing by a particular spot — physical or virtual — it’s possible to toss up a few ads and make some money. This is what AirTran has in mind. The airline is putting ads on the bottoms of seat-back tray tables. So, for takeoff and landing, at least, when this device is in its upright and locked position, passengers will be treated to prolonged exposure to the desires of advertisers.

AirTran plans to execute this across 138 planes within the next few weeks — it’s easy to pull the trigger when you stand to make some money by doing very little. The first ad partner, Mother Nature Network, is offering fliers the opportunity to win a cruise on Royal Caribbean. Future advertisers are expected to be travel-related, as well. The ads will be 2 ½ inches by 9 inches and will be easy to swap out, thanks to the plastic in which they will be encased. As planes are brought in for overnight service, they’ll be set up for the ads.

There is precedent for this move. For several years, US Airways has put ads on tray tops, but the rollout has been limited to only a few planes. Likewise, the cash from in-flight advertising isn’t all that high. US Airways pulls in $10 million a year from this, but it includes napkins, cups and some of the products carried onboard, not just the ads. Outside the United States, this practice is pretty common. Several airlines run ads to bring in a little extra money. Of course, Ryanair is among them, throwing ads on its overhead bins, tray tables and the outsides of the planes.

Will onboard advertising save the airline industry? It’s doubtful. The five largest airlines in the United States lost an aggregate $3.2 billion through the first nine months of 2009. They’ve tried combating this with extra fees and extremely aggressive cost-cutting, but nothing has really been successful. After all, a company just can’t cut its way to growth. The new advertising revenue could help, and it’s a revenue stream that will persist (and possibly grow) after the recession has receded.