my virgin Virgin experience

on monday i had the opportunity to fly on virgin america for the first time. nellie flew virgin atlantic one time to europe and she has nothing but rave reviews for the airline. dave has constantly said how great virgin america is and that its the best airline. quite frankly, it was a fantastic experience. i honestly dont know how other airlines stay in business.

a couple weeks ago nellie and i flew to boston. we had some delta vouchers we had to use so we picked boston as our destination. we had a great time. delta was terrible though. if you ever want to get a delta voucher, just book a flight with delta the day before you need to actually go. i guarantee that they will be asking customers to be bumped from the flight in exchange for free flight vouchers. our round trip flight included 4 legs (two to get there and two for the way back - more on this in a second). before each leg, the announcers were on the PA system asking people if they would be willing to go on a later flight in exchange for free vouchers. they overbook every flight. i honestly think its their way of doing business.

one of the biggest drawbacks with delta is that its nearly impossible to book a direct flight unless you are flying from LAX to ontario. even with that flight, they will still probably layover in long beach or burbank. its such a pain when it only takes 5 hours to fly across the country but it ends up taking you 12 hours because of the layovers and delays.

virgin has only direct flights. one might argue that its because they only offer flights between 9 or 10 cities. and that might be true, but those are also the cities that you would want to go to. when nellie and i were trying to decide on our weekend destination, we thought of new york, boston and chicago - places where people want to go. maybe virgin doesn't fly to little rock or des moines, but im not interested in going to those places, ever.

so lets compare the two experiences:

check in:

virgin: as you walk up to check in, you hear music. not normal airport jazz, but house music. techno and electronica music. you think it must be some euro blasting his ipod near you but then you realize that its coming from a boom box at the check in counter. but not like a boom box that someone plugged in, an actual boom box that is built into the counter. as in, the people that make the big decisions at VA decided that it was important that all their customers are greeted with some up beat dance music. pretty hip.

delta: you are immediately asked if you would like to go on a different flight for a free voucher to fly their airline overcrowded airline again. if you decline, you are pushed along so they can ask the next customer.

plane impressions:

virgin: its hard to paint an accurate picture of a VA plane. i knew what to expect, but i was still pretty amazed. black leather seats. black. clean interior. dim lights throughout the cabin. and more techno music. its like you are walking into a party. you might think that this isn't your type of scene or maybe not the conditions you would like to fly in, but it really creates a great and happy mood throughout the cabin.

delta: old leather. crowded. everyone is stuffing their bags into the bin, except that there is no room because the flight is overbooked so now the stewardesses are checking on people's carry on bags. no better feeling that doing your best to avoid checking on your bag only to then realize it will have to be checked on because the airline is way overcrowded. you would be dying for techno music right now.

flight attendants:

virgin: they wear comfortable black pants, white shirts, like long sleeve t-shirts, and these cool zip up sweater/jackets/pull overs. very modern apparel. not unprofessional, but comfortable. looks like something people enjoy wearing. which is the coolest part about VA. instead of being traditional like every other airline, they decided to get rid of tradition and think about what people want on an airline and out of a flight experience.

delta: traditional. normal. uncomfortable pants. button up shirts with some thing around their neck that looks like they thought it was a tie so they tied it like one, only it was really a bandanna or something, so its just a large flowy thing coming out of their neck.

entertainment:

virgin: free direct tv. free on demand movies. free wifi. again, free wifi. on board. you get free internet. free music. free food (snacks). drinks of course.

delta: one drink. one snack. one. you hear? on our flight from detroit to LA nellie asked for another bag of pretzels and she was denied. flat out shut down. for a bag of freakin pretzels.

nellie: 'um, can i have another bag of pretzels?'

attendant: 'no. sorry.'

ok then.


cost:

the yesterday i got an email about how a bunch of the major airlines were slashing their prices and offering cheap flights - like $100 one way from LA to NY. good deals. but it made me curious about these 'deals.' so i went online and checked the email to verify that it was in fact true and that i could actually book a flight with united or delta or some other massive airline for roughly $100 one way across the country. and the deal was legit.

then i went onto VA and checked flights for the same time period to see how they compared. no special deals, no special discounts advertised. it was just their normal rate, at it was the same price as delta and united were offering. roughly $100 to get across the country. i was checking for flights in january so it would have been booking well far in advance. still though, their 'normal' price is the same as these great deals.

anyways, i couldnt have been happier with my virgin experience (had to include one). check it out next time you fly. you wont be disappointed.

and for anyone that has made it this far, im including a chat dave and i had the other day on gmail about my VA flight. a random moments where even though you are only communicating through a computer screen, you are still somehow right on the same page with the person. also shows how quick and clever dave is. sometimes i can hang with him, but not always. one of these days someone will discover that his brain is capable of way more than soundtrack videos.

12:34 PM Dave: k bone
sommdawg
6 minutes
12:40 PM me: daveeeed
12:41 PM Dave: yo
how was out of the office time yesterday?
12:43 PM me: amazing
i flew virgin america for the first time
12:44 PM how are you doing?
12:46 PM Dave: where did you go?
12:49 PM me: SF
well, redwood city, but flew into SF
12:50 PM Dave: sweet
isn't it a lovely airline?
12:51 PM i got my Virgin America visa card yesterday
me: nice
they were advertising them on the plane
12:52 PM Dave: i can't wait to start earning points towards a free flight on Virgin America with my new Virgin America Visa Platinum card!
12:55 PM me: a new Virgin America Visa Platinum card?! I had no idea they had one. Does it have good benefits and rewards?
12:56 PM Dave: Excellent, Kent, excellent!!
I get 3 points for every dollar spent on a Virgin America flight or in-flight services, and 1 point per dollar for all other purchase. And with free flights starting as low as 10,000 points, I'll be flying free by Easter!!!
12:57 PM Plus I get 2500 free points just for signing up, and up 2500 additional points for balance transfers during the first six month (all of which carry a super low 0% APR for the first six months)!
12:58 PM me: no way
no way
i dont believe it.
Dave: Believe it, kent, believe it!
and you're pre-approved
probably.
!!!
12:59 PM me: i already fly VA anyways, and now you are telling me that they will give me free rewards and flights just for flying with the airline that i love most?
1:00 PM what's next? are you going to tell me that sheep fly and that wasps mate with flowers? [audience laughter]
Dave: And with interest rates on credit cards skyrocketing in excess of 30% since the economic collapse, the 14.9% APR on the Virgin America Visa Platinum card is just one more reason to love the the Virgin America Platinum Card - The Greatest Thing Ever Made (TM)
WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR!!!
1:01 PM me: I'm waiting for my stupid internet to load so that I can sign up online right now. If only my internet provider was as reliable and friendly as Virgin America.
1:02 PM Dave: If only, Kent, if only!
1:03 PM me: haha. right. well, with VA having free WiFi on the plane and with all the flying I'll be doing with my new VA Platinum card, I won't even need internet in my home!
1:04 PM Dave: You won't need anything kent!
Sell your house! Leave your wife! VA is the only woman you'll ever need.
She'll take you places you've never been.
1:05 PM And when you take Virgin, every time feels like the first time!