Virgin America

Virgin America’s new flirty feature

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VIRGIN VEGAS 777

I admit it.

The reason I said yes to Virgin America’s invitation to fly on the first (party) flight from Los Angeles to Las Vegas (Flight #777 at the bottom of the screen above) on Monday was because Virgin Group Founder Sir Richard Branson would be on board and I wanted to see if the ‘sparkle’ was all hype.

I don’t think it is.

Virgin America Richard Branson and the showgirls

Richard Branson and the Vegas Showgirls. Photo by Harriet Baskas

 

Any guy would be in a good mood surrounded by Vegas showgirls, of course, and Branson was in there kissing the ladies and hamming it up. But when I was given a moment to ask him a quick question he was focused, serious and polite.

But back to the party.

During this flight Virgin America rolled out its new seat-to-seat delivery feature, which allows a passenger in one part of the plane to order a snack or a drink and have it delivered to someone else.

Richard Branson introduced the flirty feature with this video:

As part of the “get lucky” roll-out, the airline is having an on-line contest (prize: a trip to Las Vegas and a stay at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas) asking passengers to share the in-flight pick-up lines they might use with this feature.

Some people think the seat-to-seat delivery option is a great ice-breaking idea.

Others think it could create situations that are awkward and creepy.

The new feature is available – along with a seat-to-seat chat function – on Virgin America flights nationwide as part of the seat-back entertainment system. But it’s likely that few folks flying between Las Vegas and Los Angeles will get to try it out: the flight time for that route is just about one hour.

 

 

More April Fools’ Day hijinks from airlines

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In addition to early arrivals from Virgin Atlantic (glass-bottomed planes) and WestJet (all-animals welcome; no carriers needed), these April Fools antics from airlines are making the rounds:

Delta Air Lines has a new double-decker arm rest available for those in the middle seat.

Double decker Delta Arm rest

Virgin America has a new Main Canine Select class offering intriguing perks, such as in-flight fire-hydrants designed by Frank Gehry.

Virgin America hydrants

VIRGIN AMERICA PETS

And JetBlue has announced three new – unusual – destinations.

Tidbits for travelers: ways to interact – and to be alone

Airports, Hotels, , ,

A little bit of this and that from airports and hotels here and there….

At the Dubai International Airport, there’s now an interactive virtual assistant on duty – the first of its kind, says Tensator, the company that created the first three non-interactive virtual assistants already on duty.

The HD-projected virtual assistant greets passengers and “interacts” with them in Arabic and English – offering information and answers to frequently asked questions, such as the location of departure gates, restrooms and check-in areas, via the interactive touchscreen.

Virgin America launched its first domestic lounge – the Virgin America Loft – at Los Angeles International Airport’s (LAX) Terminal 3.
http://youtu.be/yKkzg4b6kg4

And, for those who want to be alone – the Radisson Blu Strand Stockholm now has a suite named after Swedish-born Greta Garbo, who was a regular guest at the hotel.

She first visited the hotel’s rooftop terrace when she was an aspiring starlet in 1920s and, after becoming a major name in Hollywood, she returned to the hotel often and her family continues to frequent the hotel. The hotel collaborated with Garbo’s family to create the suite, which combines artwork and textiles from Garbo’s movies with pieces by Swedish designers.

In-flight voter registration

Politics,

It doesn’t matter who you plan to vote for in the next local, state or national election. (Well, it does. But that’s not the point here right now…)

The point is that you vote.

And if you’ve been too busy to register to vote because you’ve flying around the country on Virgin America and using the seat-back touchscreen to order food, watch movies, listen to music, play games, buy things and chat with other passengers, you’ll be pleased to know that know you can use that same system to sign up to vote.

 

Virgin America has teamed up with Rock the Vote to let passengers use their smartphones to scan a QR code on the airline’s Red seat back entertainment platform and register to vote.

Easy. Important. Cool.

 

Virgin America flight crews change clothes

Airlines, , ,

On August 8th, when Virgin America celebrates its 5th anniversary of operations, the airline will also debut a new uniform for more than 2,000 of its flight attendants, pilots and other “guest-facing staff.”

The new uniforms embody “utility chic,” said Jesse McMillin, Virgin America creative director. “We wanted to find the place where performance and functionality collides with fashion … and the energy of our engaging brand.”

Developed during 18 month collaboration with Banana Republic that included brainstorming sessions, a spirited “Design Challenge” for designers and numerous focus groups and fitting sessions with many staff members, the new uniforms address some of the function issues Virgin America team members have with the uniforms they’ve been wearing for the past five years.

“Things like an in-flight person reaching up to open an overhead bin and having their shirt put out from their pants,” said McMillin.

The new uniforms still have clean lines and a simple color palette grounded in black and white, but Banana Republic designers have added warm grays, interesting fabrics and accents of Virgin America’s signature red. “They done things like put red piping on the women’s shirt and added a fun scarf set, a red trench coat with a removable quilted lining and a red sweater,” said McMillin.

 

Banana Republic designers also addressed some of the functionality issues in creative ways. “Shirts are a little longer and there’s a grippy lining on the interior of the pants to address that ‘reach’ issue,” said McMillin, “They’ve also added some spandex to pants, skirts and shirts and they’ve used performance fabrics that can be easily be cleaned and worn for long periods of time.”

According to Virgin America, the full line of new uniforms has nine styles for men, including leather jackets, striped sleeve sweaters and woven shirts and pants. Thirteen new pieces for women include a classic pencil skirt, a slim dress, trousers, leather jackets and trenches, silk print scarves and new Virgin America-branded serving aprons for in-flight meal service.

If some of this sounds like clothing that might work for your travel needs, you’re in luck. Many of the items in Virgin America’s new uniform line are based on pieces that Banana Republic was already working on for a collection centered on the urban traveler.

So as soon as the Virgin America staff begins sporting their new look, you can too. Some items, including aviator sunglasses, luggage and belted trenches for men and women, will be available in some Banana Republic stores and on-board all Virgin America flights via the airline’s seatback, in-flight entertainment platform, called Red.

My story about Virgin America flight crews changing clothes first appeared on msnbc.com Travel.

(Photos courtesy Virgin America)

 

Flight attendant fired for breastfeeding cover-up comment

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Julia Bernstein, a 32 year-old, New York based flight attendant for Virgin America, said she was fired from her job on June 2, “because I asked a lady who was breast feeding in one of the last rows to please cover up,” on a recent full-flight from Los Angeles to New York.

“With the constant line for the bathroom being right over her, people were feeling uncomfortable and asked me to have her cover up,” said Bernstein. “The lady’s breast was out and revealed everything.”

In a telephone interview this morning, Bernstein told me said that she asked the breastfeeding mom if she had a blanket. “I tried to be matter of fact and said, “Well, you need to cover up.”

Shortly afterwards, Bernstein said the woman’s husband became upset and asked if covering up while breastfeeding was an airline policy or if she made it up. “He said what I was doing was illegal. I told him it was not a policy, I was just trying to fix a situation,” said Bernstein.

The lead flight attendant then stepped in. “She talked to the husband and said they were fine,” said Bernstein.

But evidently they were not.

“The reason Virgin fired me is because they felt I did not apologize enough to the passenger or deal properly with the situation, even though there is no proper training by Virgin America on how to deal with this type of a situation,” said Bernstein.

Abby Lunardini, Vice President of Corporate Communications for Virgin America said that for privacy reasons the airline cannot disclose specifics of the termination but shared this statement:

“Our in-flight teammates are trained to deal with a number of situations in-flight, including this one. We absolutely do accommodate breastfeeding mothers in-flight. If a situation should arise where fellow guests are uncomfortable, our teammates are also trained to try to re-seat the guest uncomfortable with the situation.”

Bernstein appeared in a commercial for the Transport Workers Union of America (TWU) that aired during “Fly Girls,” a reality TV show featuring four Virgin America flight attendants that aired for less than two months in 2010. She also said she’d been reprimanded before for what a passenger considered to be an inappropriate remark in response to complaints about an item on the in-flight menu and, after being late for a flight, was on probation.

In this situation, however, Bernstein feels she used “good judgment acted appropriately and did what any good flight attendant would have done.”

Telling a breastfeeding mother to cover up is a sensitive and potentially costly issue for airlines. In March,  Delta Air Lines and two other airline companies reached a settlement with Emily Gillette, who in 2006 was ordered off a plane in Vermont when she refused to cover herself up while breastfeeding her baby.

In response, outraged mothers staged “nurse-ins” at close to 20 other airports.

Virgin America’s Portlandia-themed party kicks off PDX service

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On Tuesday, Virgin America added an 18th city, Portland, to its service network adding two daily flights from Los Angeles and two from San Francisco. As is its tradition, the airline had a fun launch event. And, as a former Portland resident, I went along for the ride as a guest.

For the launch event, the airline teamed up with IFC and its hit show “Portlandia” and invited “Portlandia” Mayor, actor Kyle MacLachlan, along as well as the real-life Portland Mayor Sam Adams, who plays MacLachlan’s assistant on the show.

"Portlandia" Mayor Kyle Maclachlan (center), real Portland Mayor SamAdams (right), Virgin America Dave Cush (left). Photo courtesy Virgin America

When it touched down at Portland International Airport the plane -named the mt. hoodie – was met by a delegation that included local dignitaries and a hangar full of people who had been invited to a Portland/Portlandia-themed party that included DJs, art projects and doughnuts, made by Portland’s infamous donut-makers, Voodoo Doughnuts.

The mt. hoodie is one of the airline’s newest airplanes. At San Francisco International Airport, it was parked next to Jefferson Airplane, the airline’s first aircraft.

(All photos, except where noted, by Harriet Baskas)

At SFO: virtual check-in at T2 nets freebies

Air Travel, Food, Free Stuff, , , , , ,

Here’s a lovely short video that celebrates the San Francisco International Airport’s newly renovated Terminal 2 – and a way for your to get free samples, free food and some worthwhile travel discounts next time you pass through.

Here’s how to get your discounts:

Travelers who check-in at SFO’s T2 on the geo-social network Loopt, can watch the video and get “digital deals” such a complimentary product samples at Kiehl’s, discounts at Natalie’s Candy Jar and 10-20 percent off last minute travel discounts on Virgin America, which is a partner in the promotion.

The airline says it will also throw in some random two-for-one and free flight offers.

Prize Patrol: because you can’t win if you don’t play

Air Travel, Airlines, Contests, Free Stuff, , , ,

 

Here’s some free stuff, a few contests and two travel discounts you may want to take advantage of.

If you’re in the Washington, D.C. area this week or in New York City next week, keep an eye out for folks from Austrian Airlines.  As part of their Café in the Clouds promotion the airline will be serving complimentary Meinl coffee – the coffee served onboard Austrian flights – in a different Washington neighborhood each day through Sunday, May 1st. Check here for the Café in the Clouds DC schedule.

In New York, the plan is to have chefs on bikes out delivering Austrian bundt cakes. The schedule for the NY Café in the Sky event will post on May 1st.

Coffee and cake is nice, but what about travel?  If you’re not in New York or D.C., you can skip the cake the coffee and go directly to the entry form to enter a contest to win two round trip tickets from Washington, D.C. or New York to Vienna on Austrian Airlines. (Contest ends May 20, 2011)

File these under “Every bit helps:”

Through April 30th, anyone with a Visa card that has “Visa Signature” printed on it (very common) may be eligible for a 15% discount on Southwest Airlines.

Virgin America will give you a promo code good for 20% off a flight if you vote for your favorite photo or video in a contest the airline is having in connection with new service to Chicago. Deadline to vote is May 11.

And you have until May 27, 2011 to enter the American Airlines anniversary miles giveaway sweepstakes. The prizes: they’re giving away 30,000 miles a day.

Souvenir Sunday: tiny travel items and free in-flight Wi-Fi

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Free Wi-FI at airport

This weekend kicks off a great holiday promotion that provides travelers with a truly useful travel souvenir. Depending on when you travel, you’ll be able to get free in-flight Wi-Fi on four airlines: Air Tran, Alaska Airlines, Delta Air Lines and Virgin America.

Domestic travelers on Air Tran, Delta and Virgin America will be able to use the Gogo Inflight Internet for free on all Wi-Fi equipped planes from now through January 2, 2011. (Thank-you, Google Chrome). Travelers on Alaska Airlines can log on to Gogo for free from now through December 9, 2010.  (Thank-you, Honda.)

While you’re up there poking around the Internet for free, please take a moment to look at the Passports with Purposes website.

A word-wide team of bloggers has banded together to try to raise $50,000 to build a village in India.

Last time I looked, the heart-shaped thermometer showed we were just $15,000 short of the goal.

The project on its own is quite worthy, but each $10 you donate gets you an entry ticket for one of a boatload of great prizes, everything from plane tickets and hotel stays to upscale travel gear, an iPod, an iPad and swanky vacation packages.

My prize partner for the project is Mimimus.biz, the popular website that stocks pretty much anything you can think of in travel-sized and single-serving sizes.

minimus.biz hummus dip

They’ve donated a surprise box stuffed with essential, curious and luxury travel-sized items that I hope will include the organic Amazonian lip balm that comes packaged in a tree nut, TSA-friendly single servings of hummus and the Duncan Imperial Yo-Yo keychain.

minimus.biz imperial duncan Yo-Yo key chain