Virgin America Delays Start of Service from O’Hare

by Josh Lew on

Virgin America has been flirting with Chicago O’Hare for several months now. The airline had hoped to launch its service in the fall of ’08, but, obviously, that isn’t going to happen. Now Virgin is telling fans that the first take-off from the famously busy airport will be in Spring of next year. Fair enough. It hasn’t been a good year for airlines. Why not back off and wait for calmer skies?

But the delay has nothing to do with economics. At least, that’s what Virgin is saying. Rather, the failure to launch from ORD is due to the high demand for gates at the airport. O’Hare was not able to provide the gates that Virgin wanted because they are already being used. That is not a new scenario for those familiar with the airport. Even hyped and hip airlines like Virgin have to wait in line like everyone else. But don’t fear, jet-setting hipsters of Chicago, Virgin America will be losing its O’Hare cherry soon enough.

Which airlines let you watch porn?

by Mike Barish on

Last month, fellow Gadling blogger Grant Martin wrote about airlines filtering in-flight wireless content. Now MSNBC has an article on exactly which airlines are filtering adult content. So, who is letting you join the mile high club alone?

Well, if you are flying on American or Delta, be prepared to pack your own copy of Juggs, because they have asked their wireless provider, AirCell, to filter adult content. Coincidentally, these are two of my least favorite airlines to fly. Southwest is currently testing the use of in-flight wi-fi and their partner, Row 44, will also be filtering content. You’re now free to move about the country. But not your own genitals.

Air Canada will begin offering wireless next spring and their spokesman said that it is too early to comment on filtering. Their fellow hosers at Alaska Airlines have no immediate plans to filter content but will include “a few key bullets in the terms of service area” that will outline what they mean by “appropriate use.” That sounds hot.

Meanwhile, those rebels over at Virgin America have no plans to filter their wireless access. And they also do not filter their seatback touch-screen entertainment. It’s basically a flying peepshow. Kudos to you, Sir Richard Branson. I’d give you a high five, but I think I know where your hand has been.

So there you have it. Armed with this knowledge, your laptop and a 3 oz. container of hand lotion, you are now prepared to indulge in whatever internet habits you deem appropriate while crammed inside a flying tube. Remember: The only safe travel is self travel.

More improvements to Virgin America’s operations

by Grant Martin on

As Virgin America evolves out of their infancy, they’re starting to tweak some of their operations to make frequent passengers happy, cater to niche interests and maximize profits. Over the last few weeks the airline has unrolled a series of small changes to their operations; we’ll fire through them quick for you so you can stay on top of things.

  • Redemption of EleVAte points: Virgin America’s frequent flyer program, EleVAte, has so far allowed you to accrue, but not spend points. The big advantage in this program among others is that members should be able to spend their miles on any flights – there won’t be any blackout dates that prevent you from traveling on weekend/evening/holiday flights.
  • Main Cabin Select: If you sit in the bulkhead or exit rows, in addition to the extra leg room you’ll enjoy the amenities of first class: movies, food, premium checkin and the like. And yes, it does cost a bit more.
  • Fully refundable fares: While the vast majority of us don’t use fully refundable fares, the 10% of people that do book the tickets haven’t been able to do so thus far. Fully refundable fares, while significantly more expensive than a regular “economy” fare give one the ability to change/return tickets at the last minute, which is why they’re good for business travelers on tight schedules. Adding this flexibility now lets Virgin America try to capture some of that business traveler market. Note, that to get fully refundable fares you still have to call the airline to book — they have yet to integrate that feature into their booking engine.

These small changes should add further leverage to the product that VA has been building and eventually broaden their market share – in case fun mood lighting and top notch In-Flight-Entertainment weren’t enough. I’m glad that the airline is adapting and responding to user feedback and desires.

Now all they need to do is start flying to the Midwest and I’m sold.

Why does Gadling seem so fond of Virgin, OpenSkies and Southwest?

by Grant Martin on

If you’ve been around the blog for more than a few weeks, you may have noticed that we seem to cover some of the newer and edgier carriers a bit more often. Virgin America and Atlantic, Southwest and OpenSkies seem to edge into our network fairly often and it seems like there’s always a Gadling blogger close at hand (usually with a vodka tonic) to report on the hijinks.

Why is this? Are these companies secretly paying for extra exposure? Do Gadling bloggers get free tickets any time they want to jet set across the country supporting their vokda binged lifestyle?

The simple answer is Public Relations. Every day Gadling bloggers are out, scouring the interwebs, newswires and telephone lines finding out new information for you, the reader, and reporting on daily developments. And what we learn and how we report is directly related to how friendly, prolific and open the PR staff is. Contacts and friends that we’ve made at the above carriers keep us in the loop, let us know when things are happening and occasionally send us piles of spam. Unfortunately, that’s about all we get for free.Conversely, most legacy carriers don’t give a rip about what Gadling writes or what we publish – so they’re not interested in talking to lowly bloggers.

From what I can tell, PR warmth is directly related to marketing strategy. Hipper, younger airlines trying to cater to the Gadling demographic (you know who you are) know they have to keep the blogosphere positively spinning. Older, more established carriers who may cater to more of an elder or family demographic, on the other hand, might communicate in more traditional places like, oh, church bulletins.

And its not like we haven’t tried fostering relationships with legacy carriers – most firms just don’t realize the leverage that blogs can provide. So we’ll let them be and continue the subliminal message that we’re sending from Gadling. I’ll have another vodka tonic please. Thanks.

GO JETBLUE!

Virgin America moves in on SFO

by Grant Martin on

As part of what must be Virgin America‘s plan to take over the world, the airline recently announced that it was taking a majority stake in the revitalized Terminal 2 at San Francisco International Airport. Due to increasing passenger loads the terminal, which was closed in 2000, is slated to spend the next two years refurbishing and will reopen in late 2010.

The most interesting part of this article in this SF Gate article, however, is that Virgin America will be taking TEN of the fourteen available gates. “My,” you say, “that sounds like a lot of gates for an airline that only has about twenty eight departures per day out of SFO.” Could this mean that they plan on expanding further from San Francisco outward? You can bet on it. With routes already planned into Chicago and one of the fastest growth rates in the industry (in an economy that’s shrinking), the airline may need the space sooner than we think.

As for the airport, Virgin America’s stake in the terminal means that they get to weigh in on the overall design. Like Jetblue’s T5 at JFK (they share the same architect), we can expect certain VA “inspired” effects that make you feel super comfy as soon as you set foot in the front door. Said Virgin America spokesperson Abby Lunardini:

“We’re the only carrier based in California and at SFO, so we’re proud to partner with our hometown and the design firm (Gensler) to invest in innovative, guest-facing, and sustainable design for the airport’s next phase — the T2 redesign. Since we launched, we’ve had guests say they want to be on our planes longer, because of the upscale design and amenities — from lighting to the custom-designed seats. T2 is a major opportunity to invest in the airport of the future and to inject some of Virgin’s design aesthetic into the renovation and help create a place travelers may want to spend time.”

The next question is, will the terminal be mood lit as well?