Virgin America, VAustralia, Virgin Blue offer frequent flyer partnership points

by Melanie Nayer on

I love when family members play well together.

News from the Virgin camp: flyers on any of the carriers three brands – Virgin America, VAustralia and Virgin Blue – will have the option to earn points on any of the three loyalty programs.

“Travelers around the world seek out Virgin airlines for their unrivalled value, brilliant service and innovative amenities, and we’re pleased to partner with Virgin Blue and V Australia to allow our loyal guests to earn Virgin frequent flyer credits wherever they are flying– in the U.S., Asia Pacific or Australia,” said Virgin America President and Chief Executive Officer David Cush, in a press release provided by Virgin America.

Here’s how it works: If you’re a VAustralia or Virgin Blue Velocity member, you can earn points in your Velocity account by flying any of the three carriers. Likewise, if you’re a Virgin America Elevate member, you’ll earn Elevate points when you fly any of the three brands.

Elevate redemption levels will start at 40,000 points for flights on V Australia and 6,000 points for flights on Virgin Blue later this year.

GadlingTV’s Travel Talk 006: New York City, Engadget Show, Strikes & Protests!

by Stephen Greenwood on

GadlingTV’s Travel Talk, episode 6 – Click above to watch video after the jump

Ready for the City that Never Sleeps? This week we’re hitting the streets of Manhattan for a jam-packed episode that will take you through the Big Apple, behind the scenes of the Engadget Show, and show you how to get away from it all in a city like NYC.

This week we discuss the ongoing red-shirt protests in Thailand, the long awaited British Airways strike, significant new routes from Virgin America, a bus journey from D.C to Antarctica, and how NYC’s metro matches up against one of the most modern metros in the world.

Of course, there’s more Travel Tips with Bruce! and an epic Adventure that only left one of us curled up in a bathroom…

If you have any questions or comments about Travel Talk, you can email us at talk AT gadling DOT com.

Subscribe via iTunes:
[iTunes] Subscribe to the Show directly in iTunes (M4V).
[RSS M4V] Add the Travel Talk feed (M4V) to your RSS aggregator and have it delivered automatically.

Hosts: Stephen Greenwood, Aaron Murphy-Crews, Drew Mylrea
Special guests: Mike Barish, Joshua Topolsky, and Bruce!
Produced, Edited, and Directed by: Stephen Greenwood, Aaron Murphy-Crews, Drew Mylrea
Special thanks: Chad Mumm & the Engadget Team

Music:

Camping with Mike
“Camp Walk”
Derek K Miller

Travel Tips with Bruce
“Sonata in E-flat Major, Hob. XVI:49, III. Tempo di Minuet”
Mario Ajero

Engadget Show
“Le Conseil Militair pour la Justice”
Adhesion

Adventure of the Week
“New York City Heat”
Dead Heart Bloom

“Indian Funk”
Bloingo

all songs courtesy of Musicalley.com

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.

%Gallery-87349%

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.