Happy birthday, Virgin America

by Grant Martin on

Virgin America, the low cost carrier that has been sending tremors through the airline industry, turns one year old today. In celebration, passengers on many of their flights today will be greeted with cake, treats and general merriment, the apparent modus operandi for any VA activity.

Pull up a carpet square as we take a look back at Virgin America over the past year.

2005: Virgin America (Then Virgin USA) secures funding from gazillionaire Richard Branson and submits DOT certificate application to operate in the States.

March 20, 2007: After a long legal battle to receive approval from the DOT, the airline is granted permission to fly.

August 8, 2007: Virgin America begins service on their inaugural flights from San Francisco and Los Angeles to New York City. Airbus A320 aircraft feature advanced in flight entertainment systems and snazzy mood lighting. Hipsters and rejoice and announce that they already flew VA and “it was okay. I mean, we’re kind of over it”.

November 28, 2007: Victoria’s Secret models show up on a New York – Los Angeles flight as the airline celebrates naming an aircraft after the ladies. Drinks, photos and skulduggery ensue at the after party in LA.

February 12, 2008: New service from San Francisco to San Diego is launched with a Valentine’s Day flight and party at The Ivy in SD.

April 8th, 2008: Celebration for the LA-Seattle inaugural brings rockstars, hipsters and lowly bloggers together as the in-flight party continues. Gadling runs into David Cush on the flight who foreshadows some of the coming events.

June 18th, 2008: Superfly Wednesdays kick off as VA offers free drinks on Wednesday flights and further discounts at clubs across the country.

What’s next for Virgin America? Approval for service into Chicago is well underway and hopefully the airline will be offering service to the Midwest soon. The airline also plans to be the first with full wi-fi service fleetwide by the end of the year.

Keep up the good work, Virgin America, and happy birthday.

Virgin Galactic unveils White Knight Two

by Grant Martin on

Virgin Galactic unveiled the White Knight Two, their delivery vehicle for SpaceShipTwo at their Mojave construction facility today, to glorious fanfare and celebration.
White Knight Two is the second version of the mothership that will deliver the suborbital commercial space vehicle, SpaceShipTwo up to 40,000 feet before the daughtership cruises up into low orbit.

Virgin’s rollout of the ship is the first step in testing the new second phase of their commercial space flight system — a variety of static and flight tests still need to be done before the second duo are ready for real test flights. Indeed, SpaceShipTwo is still under construction and was hidden under a black sheet during the ceremonies today.

Check out the exclusive gallery of Gadling’s visit to the White Knight Two including visits from Sir Richard Branson, Buzz Aldrin and Richard Branson and stay tuned for a Gadling report on the entire event later this week!

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Food and in-flight entertainment on Virgin America can add up

by Iva Skoch on

I know Grant has been keeping you well-informed about Virgin America’s services, but I figured I would share my fresh observations.

I flew Virgin America for the first time yesterday: from New York to San Francisco. What can I say. I was impressed. Brand new plane, pleasant staff, fairly comfy leather (or fake leather) seats…For a second, you almost forget how painful it is to travel by plane these days!

One of the things I have always loved about flying Virgin Atlantic (the international version of the airline) is their in-flight entertainment set up: private screens with lots of movies, music and games to choose from.

I was hoping Virgin America would do the same.

They do, but you have to pay for it. I don’t blame them. It’s a great idea to target a bunch of people bored to death. We’ll pay almost anything to make a few hours go by a little faster. Those in-flight magazines only go so far.

I was curious to find out how much everything costs once you board a Virgin America flight. Here is a short list:

  • Headphones are free
  • Listening to music and watching music videos is free
  • Movies go for $5-7 a piece (there are lots to choose from)
  • Most TV shows will set you back 99 cents an episode (again, lots to choose from)

There is no free food on board. That’s not entirely bad news. I actually like that concept.

  • You can choose from about 7 kinds of meals (sandwiches, wraps, salads) for approximately $8/piece
  • Snacks such are about $2/piece
  • Basic drinks are free – coffee, water, soda, etc.
  • You pay $5 for beer, wine, etc.

You order your food using the TV screen of Red, Virgin’s in-flight entertainment system. You can just make your order, swipe your credit card and a few moments later, a flight attendant shows up with your meal.

To summarize, my roundtrip ticket was about $500. (Yes, that’s what NYC-SFO flights go for these days) and I also spent an additional $15 in movies and food. I have to say, I like that some airlines are turning to the “pay as you go” model. I love being able to choose my own meal and entertainment and choose when I want to eat, watch movies or sleep. This has got to be the way to do it.

Internet: An airline extra that might be worth paying for

by Jamie Rhein on

American Airlines may have actually come up with a way to make more money without ticking people off. Instead of charging for a service that used to be free–did anyone say checked bags?–the airline is piloting a system to charge passengers for Internet privileges.

Yep, that’s right. While you’re winging your way through the skies, you can log on. Need to e-mail? No problem.

You’ll also be able to instant message, download videos, and connect to a smart phone through a secured network using your own laptop.

Passengers on one lucky flight today from Kennedy in New York to Los Angeles and a flight from Los Angeles to New York will be able to test the service for free.

In a couple of weeks, American will expand broadband to other flights on Boeing 767-200 jets. Flights to San Francisco and Miami are next.

These Internet capabilities are being developed through a partnership with Aircell LLC. Aircell’s network is large enough to handle a whole plane load of Web surfers.

Knowing that you need to diversify in business, Aircell is also working out details with JetBlue and Virgin America for similar services.

American Airline’s latest money scheme is one I like. Adding a new service and charging for it instead of wringing money out of folks who used to get the same thing for free seems smarter. The price isn’t bad either. Internet will cost between $9.95 and $12.95 depending on the length of the flight.

And in case you’re wondering about the chances of pornography showing up on the screen next to you–or on yours, not a chance–at least not much of one. According to the article, the flight attendant will stop the funny business. There are already policies against bringing pornography on the plane. The same applies to Internet, even though such sites won’t be filtered out . Blocking them might disrupt service. Mind your manners, and the skies will stay friendly. [via AP]

Enter to win free drinks on United Airlines!

by Grant Martin on

The gloves are coming off, Virgin America: you may be offering free drinks on your Wednesday flights all month. You may have hottie hot hot models on your flights and Richard Branson as your playboy financier. You might even have super crazy in-seat chatting on your personalized LCD screens.

But we can beat that. Because we’re giving away free drinks for ANY DAY OF THE WEEK on United Airlines right here at Gadling. That’s right, by commenting on this post you can register yourself to win two free beverages on ANY United Airlines flight in the month of June. Flying on a Monday or Saturday? No problem, drinks are on us.

We’ll pick two lucky winners to send two vouchers each. We only ask that you’re over 21 years of age and that you actually be flying on a United Airlines flight before June 30, when the tickets expire. Feel free to also wear a “Gadling Rules | Virgin America Drools” t-shirt on your flight and take a picture — but we’re not requiring it.

  • To enter, simply leave a comment below.
  • The comment must be left before Friday, June 6 at 5:00 PM Eastern Time.
  • You may enter only once.
  • Two winners will be selected in a random drawing.
  • Two Grand Prize Winner will receive two beverage vouchers each (valued at $10.00)
  • Click Here for complete Official Rules.
  • Open to legal residents of the 50 United States, the District of Columbia and Canada (excluding Quebec) who are 21 and older.