Virgin America

Virgin America’s new flirty feature

Fun Stuff, , ,

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.

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)