owclaw’s blog

Virgin America

if i were to describe virgin america this is what i would say.

Imagine if the Airlines never stopped innovating in the mid eighties, and the flying experience got better. If you fly Virgin America you are getting an end to end flight experience that represents what flying is supposed to be like in 2008.

or

If Apple started an Airline the experience would be Virgin America.

Do I really need to say any more? Virgin is simply the best domestic flying experience I’ve had, both in First Class and in Coach. Let’s examine the experience.

But first, if you are short on time, here are the bullets:

The Airport

When you fly Virgin at SFO you are leaving from International Terminal A. There are very few airports in the world that are nicer than flying the International terminal at SFO. Built in 2000, it’s pretty much a fantastic terminal, from the attached parking garage with reasonable short term parking rates, to the amazingly short security line, to the great food offerings and plenty of seating.

On the SEA side of things you are flying out of Concourse A, which is also brand new, and not crowded. Comparing this to the mayhem of Terminal C and D where Alaska flys is not fair, but it’s an amazing contrast.

The Plane

Virgin has a fleet of brand new Airbus A320 and A319s. the Airbus narrow body fleet(A319, A320) are equivalent to the Boeing 737 series (737-700, 737-800, 737-900) and the Airbus A321 is equivalent to the Boeing 757.

Personally I like Airbus planes. My favorite plane to fly is the A340-300 which is equivalent to the 767 but 20 years newer. The smaller Airbusses are comfortable, quite and have all the latest and greatest technology. The cockpit is impressive.

Since the plane is brand new, it has a leg on everything anyone else flys domestically. Continental, Delta, American, United have increasingly aging fleets, and you can get stuck flying a 20 year old plane that has never had a cabin refresh.

Lindsay lohan sexy photo shoot

the maiden fetish you thinks fitting notice is the cabin. the best way to describe it is the lobby of a w hotel. there is pink and purple mood lighting, white leather seats in first birth and black leather seats in coach with spotless ipod like plastic everywhere.

There is no carpet on the walls, no carpet dividers, no curtains, nothing that can get old and crappy worn out looking.

Instead of a “no smoking light” next to the “seatbelt” light, there is a “no portable electronics” light. Why hasn’t every single airline replaced that stupid no smoking light with a no electronics light? I mean Hello, how many years has it been since smoking was allowed domestically?

All the seats have little steps for folks to place their bags in the overhead bins. This is a nice little touch.

BTW, all the airplanes have names. I flew to SEA on Jefferson Airplane. Virgin has always had an awesome sense of humor.

First Class

there are 8 basic prestige seats. buying a first class ticket is reasonable compared to say american or united, but you’ll pay a few hundred dollars one way for one. i upgraded to first c
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