what a waste…
This post is a little reflection of my first experience flying with Virgin America. I’m a frequent Southwest and JetBlue customer and this airline was worth checking out.
First of all, I scored $39 one-way tickets from SFO-LAX. Plus. However, they have only 5 daily flights to LAX right now, which seem to fill up quickly for peak travel days/times. Minus. They fly out of SFO, which has a direct connection to BART and have assigned seats. Plus. When I arrived at the gate (on time) they were delayed about 20 minutes. Minus. They had plush leather seats and power outlets in coach along with personal entertainment with DirectTV. Plus. I was pretty hungry and they didn’t give out any snacks. Minus.
The TV and video game remote is tucked away in the arm rest. That’s pretty cool.
Who doesn’t enjoy TV on a flight?! They also use Google Maps to track the flight.
Overall impressions of Virgin? It’s good and comparable to JetBlue minus the snacks and reliable entertainment. It has power for your mobile devices, which is a definite plus (esp. for cross-country flights). The purple mood lighting and loungey music is a cute touch but completely unnecessary. I would have to say that it’s a good competitor with JetBlue. Just beware of the rising prices as the airline becomes more mainstream. Until then, expect a half-empty plane (on off-peak flights) with a few kinks they have to work out. Would I fly with them again? Sure. At least I know that I have another option when I fly home or to New York.
Now for my return flight…
On my return trip today, my expected 4-hour journey (including drive time, flight, and commute on BART) turned into 7. It’s not all Virgin’s fault but it definitely tainted my first flight back with them.
My flight was scheduled for 11:40 am. We left the house at 10:15 with plenty of time to get to the airport and for check-in. We got to the airport exit around 10:40 and that’s when the day turned sour. The exit was closed and my dad and I had to circle the airport for another 45 minutes trying to find a way into the terminals. A couple of wrong turns, a closed off intersection, and unusually congested streets resulted in me getting through security and to the gate by 11:30 where the plane had already pushed back. *grr* I was booked on the 1:55 pm flight and had to hang out in Terminal 6 (probably the worst terminal ever) for another 2 hours.
Once aboard the plane, I nearly knocked at guy in the head with my backpack and had to sit next to a really snobby lady who kept scowling at me. As we pushed off and started our taxi, the plane paused with an announcement from above. There was rain in SF and we were ordered to sit on the runway for another 25 minutes. What?! By the time we took off, it was 1:30 and a half hour past the landing time of my original flight. Argh. The flight was bumpy and the DirectTV was not working the entire time. Thank goodness for the power outlet because I was then able to sort through this weekend’s photos. We landed at 4:00 pm and I was restless. I rushed over to the BART station, which is actually IN the airport and got home by 5:00 pm. I can’t believe I spent my day off traveling.
On Sunday, I drove down to Irvine to pick up some supplies for my inservice and stopped by the old neighborhood to say “hello” to my old neighbors. Luckily they were home and we got to do a little catching up. Later that day, I had lunch with Patti and it was so nice to hang out with her again. In the evening, I went to my uncle’s retirement dinner. I also got to meet little Brandon for the first time, which was a special treat. Cole is growing up fast and pretty soon little Brandon will be running alongside him as his sidekick. That evening I spent the night at the Suminos’ in preparation for my presentation in Irvine the next day.
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