New SFO terminal brings romance back to air travel

by Chris Owen on

It was 1954 when San Francisco International Airport (SFO) welcomed it’s first flights. At the time, air travel was a luxurious experience and would-be classic airliners ruled the sky. This weekend, SFO reopens Terminal 2, thought to be the most modern and sustainable terminal in the United States, ushering in a new era of travel by air.

“An airport terminal designed to bring back the romance of travel,” airport director John Martin told KGO-TV.

The new $383 million SFO terminal will be home to American and Virgin America airlines. Airport supporters hope to recapture the golden age of air travel with local restaurant stars, artwork, a classic American Airlines DC-3 and even the ability to fill an empty water bottle and take it on board.

“We immediately felt we walked into a five-star hotel lobby that was just declared LEED gold standard in its environmental design,” said San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee.

On the flip side, the new terminal welcomes the future of aviation with open arms too. Sir Richard Branson was on hand this week with Virgin Galactica’s White Knight 2 which will take passengers into space, a venture California legislators hope to see reality soon.

“This is a big part of economic growth and economic development in the region and it is a big part of keeping down the costs for passengers to fly,” said California Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom.

That’s great news for San Francisco, not so great news for nearby San Jose where their airport has struggled, trailing behind San Francisco then Oakland, losing lucrative routes to Paris and Taiwan. The economic slump that started in 2008 pretty much drove a stake through the beleaguered airport’s heart causing a loss of a third of its scheduled flights and a quarter of it’s passengers. This probably won’t help them either.

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Richard Branson takes to the sea? Not as odd as it may sound

by Chris Owen on
No, we’re not talking about Virgin Cruise Line but when billionaire Richard Branson talks, people listen. Last year, Branson unveiled a three-man submarine, the Necker Nymph, capable of going almost 100 feet deep. Today, Branson hinted at more water-related ventures at a southern California yacht club.

Tuesday’s announcement at the Newport Harbor Yacht Club on Balboa Peninsula says there is only one frontier left for Branson’s Virgin brand, which has reached “the seven continents of the earth, up into the jet stream and soon, even into space.” reports the Associated Press.

“If someone says something is impossible we like to prove it’s possible,” Branson said. “I love learning and I’m just very fortunate to participate in these kinds of adventures.”

Branson unveiled a new 18 foot submarine, the first of his new Virgin Oceanic adventure. The $17 million sub will make deep dives to be recorded and uploaded to Google Earth creating an “interactive virtual globe” that will “enable users to visit places that they’ve never explored, including the world’s oceans” said John Hanke, Google’s vice president of product management.

Virgin’s Richard Branson likes Apple so much, he wants to merge …maybe

by McLean Robbins on

The word is out – Virgin’s Sir Richard Branson loves him some Apple – he even named Steve Jobs as his “favorite entrepreneur.”

Sir Richard Branson expressed his admiration for Apple and its founder Steve Jobs, joking that he’d consider merging his Virgin empire with the tech giant, reported TechRadar earlier today.

The publication reported that Branson told TechRadar that the iPad 2 was on his wishlist and that “[Steve Jobs is] the entrepreneur in the world I most admire and I think [Apple] is the brand I most admire.

“Everything he does is real class and if he wants to rename his company Virgin Apple I’d be happy to merge! It’s a great brand and a great company and may he get well soon.

Branson also mentioned his company’s new magazine for the iPad, Project, and spoke highly of its success.

Personally, the idea of a merger between one of our favorite tech brands (Apple) and one of our favorite travel brands (Virgin) makes an attractive prospect, however flippant Branson may have been with his remarks.

[Flickr via Binder.donedat]

Delta: single large airline looking for Virgin partner

by Tom Johansmeyer on

I hope you haven’t become too attached to Virgin Atlantic. The airline has gotten its share of calls lately about potential mergers, but they are qualified with expressions like “early stages” and “far too early” to say anything about. This isn’t all that surprising, given the strength of its brand and the fact that the airline hired Deutsche Bank to help it evaluate its available growth opportunities.

Word on the street is that Delta is sniffing around, but neither Delta nor Virgin Atlantic would say anything about it.

The notion of a merger with an airline of Delta’s size is interesting, as majority owner of Virgin Atlantic, Sir Richard Branson, didn’t have much in the way of positive commentary for the British Airways/Iberia deal, which he believed would lead to higher prices and lower competition.

But, the aviation business is feeling the urge to merge, and analysts are saying that Virgin Atlantic needs a big buddy in order to compete effectively, the BBC reports.

[photo by eisenbahner via Flickr]