Virgin America announces new routes to Orlando, Toronto

by Melanie Nayer on

The wait is finally over (and we know you’ve all been on the edge of your seats).

Early this morning, Virgin America announced plans to serve Orlando International Airport and Toronto Pearson International Airport with daily nonstop flights from Los Angeles and San Francisco.

The Orlando flights will launch Aug. 19, 2010 and, pending approval from the U.S. Department of Transportation, Virgin plans to start flying to Toronto as early as June 2010.

Amid all the excitement, however, is a bit of bad news. The airline has also announced that it will end service to John Wayne Airport (SNA) effective May 26, 2010. Silver lining: Virgin has promised all its John Wayne employees equivalent positions at LAX or in another area of the airline’s business.

But what good is a new route announcement without a new fare sale?

Never fear, flyers: Virgin America’s Los Angeles – Orlando fares start at $149 and San Francisco – Orlando fares start at $199 one way. Tickets are on sale today on Virgin America’s Web site.

It’s been a busy week for the Virgin team – on Tuesday, Virgin announced a partnership with Morgans Group Hotels, and rumor from the Virgin camp is the airline will announce at least three more new destinations to service in 2010 (our bets are still on Chicago, Atlanta and Dallas).

Sixteen-hour LAX to JFK “flightmare” fueled by four Pringles

by Laurel Miller on

Virgin America flight 404, bound from LAX to JFK, took a bit of a detour Saturday, reaching its destination in sixteen hours, instead of the usual six.

Due to 60-mph winds in New York, the plane was forced to circle JFK before it was diverted 90 miles north, to Stewart Airport in Newburgh. The plane then sat on the tarmac for approximately seven hours (until midnight), according to irate passengers.

Things got really ugly when frazzled, snappish flight attendants were forced to ration food and drink; each passenger was allotted a half-cup of water and four Pringles. The angry mob threw cookies and cursed the “flight from hell.” One passenger had to be escorted off the plane by police, due to a panic attack.

A mutiny was averted when rival airline JetBlue — who have facilities at Stewart Airport — arranged for buses to take the passengers to JFK, two hours away. The “flightmare” ended at 3am.

One of the passengers, the CEO of a social marketing firm, kept the world updated on the situation via deadpan Twitter posts and videos of the ordeal.

Virgin America issued a statement apologizing for the debacle: “After reviewing the particular circumstances of this diversion, we agreed that we needed to have done a better job with communicating a difficult situation to our guests.”

Big Brother may not be watching, but there’s no hiding from social media.

Virgin America teams up with Morgans Hotels

by Melanie Nayer on

Exciting things are afoot over at Virgin America. We’re expecting to hear about new routes any day now, but in the meantime, Virgin America is hooking up with a new partner: Morgans Group Hotels.

Starting today, Virgin America’s Elevate Frequent Flyer program members can earn 1,000 points per stay at participating Morgans Hotel Group properties toward free Virgin America flights. The Morgans Group hotels have properties in New York, Miami, San Francisco, Boston, Las Vegas, and Los Angeles – all Virgin-served destinations.

Here’s how it works:

Stay at a Morgans Hotels property and earn 1,000 miles per stay, which can be used toward a Virgin America flight through December 31, 2010. To receive points, you’ll have to book via 800.606.6090 or morganshotelgroup.com.

[More information available here, via the company press release]

New Virgin America routes to be announced soon!

by Melanie Nayer on

Rumor at 36,000-feet is that Virgin America will announce its long-delayed service to Chicago later this month, but that’s not all that the low-cost airline has in store for its domestic travelers.

I caught up with Virgin America CEO David Cush via online chat onboard my flight from Los Angeles to Boston earlier this week and learned about a few more cities the airline has in the pipeline.

Cush said he’ll likely have some news for flight attendants later this week about new planes and new routes. While the general public will have to wait until a bit later this year, in-flight sources suggest to me that Dallas, Orlando and Atlanta might be the next target cities.

But here’s the best news from my main cabin seat: Cush told us that Virgin America is considering service to Canada saying, “We certainly plan on expanding to Canada at some point (maybe sooner rather than later) and are very excited about it.”
No clues yet on which city the airline will service, but among the strongest Canadian candidates, our money is on either Toronto or Whitehorse.%Gallery-87349%

Before you go, be sure to check out Episode 4 of Gadling’s Travel Talk TV, which features good and bad pilots, Holi, and a sofa in an aquarium!

Virgin America’s Fly Girls premiere party: insider access

by Grant Martin on

The launch date of CW network’s reality television show Fly Girls is drawing near, the inside story of five, sexy Virgin America flight attendants working, traveling and crashing through the crazy jet set life together.

While the official series premiere date is March 24, Virgin America gave a few lucky folks an inside preview of the series on a secret flight between Los Angeles and Las Vegas last week. The chaps at Gadling were lucky enough to score a few tickets for the ride.

Things kicked off in Los Angeles at terminal 4 of LAX on Friday the 26th, wayward passengers filtering in from all corners of the continent to participate in the festivities. Our good friend Johnny Jet met us at the gate, and before long the lovely ladies from Fly Girls as well as David Cush, CEO of Virgin America appeared from the jet bridge and welcomed the salivating passengers aboard.


The brief flight from Los Angeles to Las Vegas was only 50 minutes long, but Virgin America and CW were able to pack in plenty of activity, from the Fly Girls themselves handing out specially crafted Veev cocktails to celebratory announcements to the climax of the flight: an exclusive preview of the pilot episode.

Cheers erupted as the show came to a close and the aircraft landed at McCarran airport, and as the crowd snaked towards the Palazzo and Emeril’s Stadium, there was a steady buzz of excitement and festivity growing.

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The Fly Girls would reemerge on the red carpet in front of the Palazzo Las Vegas, posing with countless celebrities and answering questions about the show, just before heading into Lagasses Stadium for an on-stage kickoff and all night dance party. For more details on that you can check out this week’s Travel Talk.

It was a fantastic way to begin what’s sure to be an interesting and revealing look into the lives of Virgin America flight attendants in the Fly Girls series. Be sure to tune in on March 24th to see the premiere.