Virgin’s future lands at San Francisco’s new T2

by Justin Delaney on

It is not often that you casually glance out of the airplane window and see the future racing up beside you, glistening in the California sun like a joyriding space catamaran. This happened in San Francisco yesterday as Gadling took part in Virgin’s latest celebration of innovation. Virgin held an event to toast the evolution of flight as well as the opening of Terminal two at San Francisco airport. With plane interiors like neon rimmed London clubs and commercial plans to pierce space with their Galactic platform, Virgin is on an innovatory run that is making them look more and more like the airline industry’s version of Apple.

Our boarding passes listed the departing city as San Francisco and our arrival destination as the future. The flight would circle San Francisco and land at the sparkling new Terminal two. The departure gate teemed with excitement. Muffins were distributed, mimosas swished about, and Rocketman played predictably in the background. Buzz Aldrin rolled in sporting a watch on each hand – one no doubt keeping moon time. The Lieutenant Governor of California, who I first mistook to be Bradley Cooper, addressed the crowd with perfect diction, proclaiming California’s undying support for Virgin America. We were about to “Fly from the Jet Age to the Space Age.”


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The Flight
The plane boarded like any other flight. Groups were announced and everyone shuffled on. The flight attendants crept down the busy aisle offering champagne and water while dodging photographers angling to snap a shot of Virgin chief Richard Branson. Sir Richard ambled down the aisle like a man from the future forced to make his fortunes in a distant past. The throngs of media hung on each charming word he uttered while shuttering away to capture every smile. The pilot took us up into a clear California day that showcased epic views out over San Francisco harbor. White crested waves crashed peacefully below, and a little red bridge connected two landmasses.

As the plane banked a turn and leveled out, a glimmer quickly approached from a distance. The speck drew closer and my eyes adjusted to accept the sight of a spaceship pulling up beside our jet. It was White Knight Two with SpaceShip Two nestled between its massive wings. The spacecraft was unapologetically awesome. It lingered just off our left wing like a boasting UFO. It was the main act and a righteous glimpse into the future of space travel. We flew in formation for the rest of the flight. The passengers on our flight smashed up against the windows, hypnotically drawn to the sight of this strange craft effortlessly gliding through the cloudless day. It was a spaceship, and that is about as awesome as it gets.

The Terminal
The flight to the future touched down at San Francisco’s new T2. The terminal originally opened in 1954, and after many years serving as a relic of the past, was fitted with a $380 million modernist renovation. A press conference drove the point home. It is compared to a five star hotel by the mayor of San Francisco. It is striving to be platinum LEED certified. It glows like the future. The project is under budget and ahead of schedule. Politicians, architects, and airline executives all took their turn at the podium sharing their version of the same story – that Terminal two is the future of airport terminals.

The terminal had the anxious air of a play before the curtain is drawn. Workers hammered away at benches. The entire staff of a Pinkberry was being trained on the whims of demanding yogurt customers. Sticky plastic sheets were peeled off of metal surfaces by men in hard hats with great satisfaction. Everything smelled new. The terminal would open in just days, and everywhere workers were racing to meet this finish line.

Terminal two is considered the greenest domestic terminal in the United States. I heard the term LEED certified maybe a dozen times, either proclaimed loudly in the press conference or overheard from a passing conversation. Virgin America’s commitment to environmental responsibility is readily apparent in their influence over the terminal’s design. The Gensler designed space reflects Virgin’s style while adhering to the goals of sustainability.

The new terminal will be shared by Virgin America and American Airlines. AA was the original occupant of T2, with roots all the way back to 1954. American Airlines unveiled a stunning new Admiral’s Club, also LEED certified.

The terminal includes a “zone of recomposure” where weary travelers can gather themselves and continue on their mission. The zone hosts a massive art installation by Janet Echelman (above). Titled “Every Beating Second” after a line by beat poet Allen Ginsberg, the installations hang elegantly from the ceiling and add to the modern style of the terminal.

The terminal is an exciting glimpse into the future of airports. The cold utilitarian design of years passed is being slowly replaced with comfortable spaces filled with modernist accents and green ambitions. Virgin, American Airlines, and San Francisco should all be proud of their new terminal. T2 is an excellent use of space with no shortage of shopping and food options.


The Future
Watching history unfold can be as revolutionary as a kicked in door or as subtle as a whisper. With White Knight Two landing at a commercial airport yesterday, a new step in aviation was taken. Sir Richard Branson casually mentioned that it was likely the first spaceship to ever land at a commercial airport, as though the thought just passed through his head moments before he spoke it. Being casually brash is always a cool angle. It is this cool innovation that drives Virgin towards exciting new ventures. It was revelatory seeing White Knight Two land amongst the Boeings and Airbuses, and it looked a lot like the future gliding into the present.



All photography by Justin Delaney

United Airlines celebrates 85 years of flying with a retro livery Airbus A320

by Scott Carmichael on

At a special event at Chicago’s O’Hare airport, United Airlines took to a stage to unveil a special Airbus A320 repainted with a retro livery.

During the event, CEO Jeff Smisek also honored some of his colleagues with the longest history of representing United. The 12 staff members represented a combined 450 years of service. One of the longest serving employees is Captain Jack Lampe, who has been flying with United since 1961.

Also present were current flight attendants dressed in United Airlines outfits from the past. The 1970’s era jet livery was selected by airline employees as their favorite paint job. The plane will fly around the country, making its way to employee celebrations.

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2011 Airline Quality Ratings – AirTran at number one

by Justin Delaney on

The 2011 Airline Quality Ratings (AQR) were just released, and AirTran topped the list at number one. The Atlanta based air line got top marks in the study that accounts for on time arrivals, mishandled baggage, complaints, and other metrics. The study only includes airlines in the United States and provides interesting statistics about the overall quality of domestic air travel.

The main form of complaint involved flight problems, followed by baggage. While overall complaints went up about 30% from 2009 to 2010, overall quality rating also went up marginally. This could be due to the communication channel widening to include new forms of customer feedback. AirTran handled baggage the best with only 1.63 bags mishandled per 1000 passengers. American Eagle was at the other end of the spectrum with 7.15 bags mishandled per 1000 passengers. Of all the airlines listed, Hawaiian Airlines topped the list in on time arrival. Over 92% of their flights landed on time. The full report can be viewed here.

AQR Rankings – Domestic Airlines
16. American Eagle
15. Atlantic Southeast
14. Comair
13. Mesa Air
12. United
11. American Airlines
10. Skywest9. Frontier
8. Continental
7. Delta
6. U.S. Airways
5. Southwest
4. Alaska
3. Jet Blue
2. Hawaiian
1. AirTran

flickr image via Bob B. Brown

Southwest grounds planes, investigation underway

by Chris Owen on

As a result of Sacramento bound Southwest Airlines flight 812 making an emergency descent Friday night after a large hole appeared in the fuselage, 79 Southwest planes have been grounded.

While no one was seriously injured Friday as the Southwest flight carrying over 100 people rapidly lost cabin pressure and made scary descent from 34,500 feet, landing safely in Arizona, questions about maintenance of the aircraft are being asked.

The Associated Press reports that a review of Federal Aviation Administration records of maintenance problems for the 15-year-old plane showed that “in March 2010 at least eight instances were found of cracking in the aircraft frame, which is part of the fuselage. The records showed that those cracks were repaired.”

“The safety of our Customers and Employees is our primary concern,” said Mike Van de Ven, Southwest’s executive vice president and chief operating officer in a statement on Southwest’s web site. “We are working closely with Boeing to conduct these proactive inspections and support the investigation. We also are working aggressively to attempt to minimize the impact to our Customers’ travel schedules today.”

Southwest is working with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Boeing, builder of the aircraft to determine the cause.

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Flickr photo by gTarded

The unexpected: part of traveling, even on cruise ships

by Chris Owen on

If we travel by air, we hope our flight will be on time, our luggage makes it with us without damage and that no one sits next to us in that vacant seat. Once at our destination, we hope for good weather, friendly people along the way and the opportunity to make great memories that will last a lifetime. That’s pretty much universal regardless of what we’re doing. Still, the unexpected does happen and there are two ways to look at it when plans go awry. We can be disappointed and allow deviations from our plans to ruin our travels or we can accept those deviations, regroup and move along, often ending up with a richer, more fulfilling experience than we ever dreamed of, let alone planned on.

Be it Backpacking, Hiking, Camping, Climbing, Scuba Divng, Skiing, Surfing or Biking, we hope for the best. Smart travelers prepare for the worst too and usually end up with an experience somewhere between good and great if we did our homework. We know things can go wrong and do what we can to avoid situations where that might happen. All-inclusive vacation packages or cruise vacations promise to take a lot of the guesswork out of the equation but sometimes the unexpected happens with those as well.

Earlier this week, Carnival Pride was docked at Port Canaveral earlier when an 85-knot guest of wind blew the ship out of position and caused some minor damage. The result was a late departure from Port Canaveral and a modified itinerary that skipped good-port Nassau, leaving not-so-good-port Freeport, Bahamas as an overnight visit.

This was not the cruise that passengers paid for, true. But travelers, and cruise passengers in particular, often forget that the very nature of travel brings upon us the unexpected from time to time. That is part of the deal as well. It’s not spelled out in any contract or brochure but the unexpected happens. Sometimes, even with the best of preparation, the unexpected happens and there is nothing we can do to prevent it. We can, however, roll with those unexpected changes and make the best of it. Often, it is the unexpected that elicit some of the best travel experiences that we will be talking about long after the end of that vacation.

Andy Hayes (@Andrewghayes) is the managing editor of SharingTravelExperiences.com and recommends:

  • Always Take the High Road. Being a total jerk doesn’t do anybody any favors, and usually works against you. Remember, it isn’t usually the employee you’re dealing with who caused the issue (and even if it was, still…). Be firm and friendly.
  • Get on the Phone. If you’re stuck in long queues (esp at the airport), get on the phone as sometimes a phone agent can be easier to reach and can get you a manager to authorize off-policy changes. It is better to deal with someone in person though, so use the phone option as a backup.
  • Accept what you can’t change. When the weather or mistakes or whatever means that you just aren’t going to get home on time, or you’re going to miss out on something special, try to find the inner peace to accept it. Yeah, it sucks, but if you let that negative energy fester it can spoil your entire vacation.
That’s good advice that can be applied to just about any travel situation. Often, the difference between “I had a lousy time” and “That was awesome!” have to do with how we look at the unexpected. We can choose to be mad about changes that come our way or we can choose to take those changes in stride, determined to get the most out of every situation we are in, regardless of what that might be.

While cruise lines publish itineraries far in advance of sailing, like a hiking trip, variables along the way can change what actually happens. A gust of wind made a real impact on the cruise experience of passengers on that Carnival ship earlier this week.

A similar gust of wind might have altered the plans of someone on a camping trip, blowing their tent down. If you have ever camped much, you know that happens. You take precautions by pitching that tent in the right direction, using long enough stakes set deep and at an angle to keep them in the ground. But every once in a while you might come back from a hike and find that tent blown down. It happens. You get over it. You move along. It is certainly nothing that will ruin your day or the entire trip.

Cruise passengers need to have that same attitude about itineraries, on-board programs, off-the-ship activities and the like. The unexpected is part of traveling, a part not to be feared but just dealt with when it happens. If possible, turn it in to a good thing, a shared experience with others. It’s often just how we look at it.

Flickr photo by Sparkles Tuey