Virgin America Cleared to Fly in US

Virgin America has been given final approval by the DOT to start flying in the US. (May, 18, 2007)

 

Six cities have been names so far. SF, LA, DC, San Diego, and Vegas.

 

Boston, Atlanta, Orlando and many more are to follow in the coming years.

 

It looks as if they will be flying A319's and A320's. Pretty nice planes, and tricked out too. :D

 

Its good to have some competition.

 

Maybe the airlines we have now will straighten up and fly right for a change.

Virgin America has been given final approval by the DOT to start flying in the US. (May' date=' 18, 2007)

 

Six cities have been names so far. SF, LA, DC, San Diego, and Vegas.

 

Boston, Atlanta, Orlando and many more are to follow in the coming years.

 

It looks as if they will be flying A319's and A320's. Pretty nice planes, and tricked out too. :D

 

Its good to have some competition.

 

Maybe the airlines we have now will straighten up and fly right for a change.[/quote']

 

What is different with this airline when compared to the other ones?

Its good to have some competition.

 

Maybe the airlines we have now will straighten up and fly right for a change.

That's good news. Thanks, Ron! A breath of fresh air might be just what the industry needs.

What is different with this airline when compared to the other ones?

In cold, hard terms, it's probably difficult at the moment to pin down exactly what's different when compared to an airline like jetBlue. But Virgin will try to give it the group's famous pizazz. A look at this page on their site will give you a hint of what's being attempted.

 

Another hint at the slight wackiness that pervades most Virgin enterprises comes from the first list of aircraft names, chosen from a public contest that's still open:-

• Airplane 2.0
• An Airplane Named Desire
• Chic Mobile
• Contents May Be Under Pressure
• Fog Cutter
• Jane
• Jefferson Airplane
• Mach Daddy
• Unicorn Chaser
• Virgin & Tonic
• Winner of Naming Contest

I can't pretend to understand the jokes behind all of them ("Jane"?), but it's not difficult to get the drift.

What is different with this airline when compared to the other ones?

 

 

For starters take a look at the inside of their aircraft.

Ron. From your post I count 5 cities. Four far west and one (DC) in the east. I wouldn't expect much effect to the industry this year. Looks like an ill devised experiment.

 

BTW. AirTran was just approved for more take offs and landings at Reagan National since Spirit dropped Reagan.

OK, I just read that Sir Richard Branson has some indirect involvement. I hope that this line is able to provide the same service as Virgin Atlantic. Emphasis on the I hope.

Ron. From your post I count 5 cities. Four far west and one (DC) in the east. I wouldn't expect much effect to the industry this year. Looks like an ill devised experiment.

 

BTW. AirTran was just approved for more take offs and landings at Reagan National since Spirit dropped Reagan.

 

I beg your pardon, I forgot New York. :eek:

 

Please refer to the Virgin America website for a complete list of cities and the cities to come in the future.

 

I am far from perfect.

 

Have a nice day.

This is awesome news!! I hope they are successful and expand, expand, expand!

Looks like an ill devised experiment.

Why do you say that? If there's one thing that the Virgin group have successfully done, it's prudently and gradually making a place for its airlines against well-established incumbents.

Consolidation of the domestic airline industry seems to be working. More competition and more seats will likely add problems to this rather troubled industry.

But if it's successful and it kills one of the under-performing incumbents, surely that would be a good thing?

IF is the operative word. lol

I can't pretend to understand the jokes behind all of them ("Jane"?), but it's not difficult to get the drift.

Could it possibly be the outcome of the line "Me Tarzan, You Jane"???

 

Otherwise, I'm as baffled as you.

 

As for adding capacity -- IMHO, it hasn't been a capacity issue here in the USA. Flights are going out at fleet-wide averages of over 80%. There is plenty of demand out there; the issue is how to best address and serve that demand. When you get the same old service, with the same old policies, with the same old approach, executed by the same old management - guess what? You get the same old results. DUH!!!!

 

Virgin America will shake up the US market, just as Virgin Atlantic has had an impact on the North Atlantic (and other) market, and just as Virgin Blue has impacted the Australian market. You can't buy Packards any more, even though they were great cars. You can't fly TWA or Eastern. Time for the US aviation industry to realize that we're in the 21st century.

The job of the airlines is to return to profitability again. You don't do that with empty seats.

i looked at the pictures of the coach section. other that being a bit more stylish it looked like any other coach section (cramped).

 

any other reasons to fly virgin?

We are just back from our Australia cruise and we used the Australian Virgin Blue to fly from Sydney to Cairns and back. They fly a fleet of new 737s, it was great service, and the fares were cheaper than Qantas and they strive to fly on-time.

More competition can only be good for fares and service, I hope they expand fast.

The job of the airlines is to return to profitability again. You don't do that with empty seats.

It is possible to make money with a big chunk of empty seats, and to lose your shirt with completely full airplanes. It is all a matter of properly managing your routes, fare structure, staffing, equipment and cash flow. Getting the right revenue yields from your schedule. Supply, demand, rational pricing, cost management -- just like any other business. Only be sure to check your ego at the door. That's what killed more airline execs than anything.

Could it possibly be the outcome of the line "Me Tarzan, You Jane"???

 

Or possibly, "plain-Jane" => plane "Jane"

Flyertalk. Historically, the legacy airlines with empty seats aplenty can't resist trying to undercut the competition's fares to a point that Delta was

28 billion in debt. Others less. Finally, the airlines are able to raise prices and of course they need to. $66.50 per barrel currently for oil (unrefined).

Fortunately, the LCCs have forced the industry to give up the Sat night stay requirement and I think they also forced the Legacys to offer affordable oneways and to reduce costs.

With about 30% of the market, I think the LCCs are showing the way for all the domestics.

Who would a thunk! And profitably. AirTran's Joe Leonard says that his line has 7 consecutive profitable years. And as for all, those were tough years.

We should mention the cost of payroll and pensions.

 

I am guessing the younger airlines dont yet have to pay retirement or higher salaries to their employees just yet. So I save in that department.

 

I have long thought that some airline employees are over paid in the sense that they work very little for high pay.

 

For example I know a flight crew member that works Saturdays and Sundays only and is considered full time with full time pay and benefits. Thats just one person and one example! What a waste!

 

I am sure I will get some back lash from that statement but it doesnt seem a good way to do business.

With about 30% of the market, I think the LCCs are showing the way for all the domestics.

So why are you so sceptical about this new one? I would have thought that it would fit the bill for being an attractive, innovative, well-managed and well-capitalised offering (with a huge existing brand behind it) that has a decent chance of succeeding - and if it puts competitive pressure on the incumbents, possibly with fatal results for one of them. Obviously, there's many a slip 'twixt cup and lip, but at this stage they seem to have as good a chance of getting there as jetBlue or AirTran before it.

globaliser......... we as a family LOVE VIRGIN ATLANTIC and cannot wait for VIRGIN AMERICA.

for those of you not familiar with this airline let me tell you from experience......

1. generally the planes are in excellent condition.

2. they have way more flight attendants than any other carrier i've ever been on.

3. service is not just a 7 letter word.

4. their entertainment system is unparelleled.

5. my children have flown several times by themselves and virgins "escort" program is very hands on and we don't think twice about them going.

6. on a different note.....love richard branson, what he's accomplished and how he operates. he's a 1st class operation.

7. they have a great frequent flyer program.

i used to say that JETBLUE was the virgin atlantic of the states. once virgin expands there routes....bye bye jetblue (at least for us:D )

I'm a Virgin proponent/fan as much as the next person, but one thing that will probably keep me on JetBlue for the foreseeable future is the amount of pitch being offered - up to 36" on JetBlue vs. 32" on Virgin America. As a 6'1" guy, those extra 4 inches make all the difference in the world, especially on anything over a 1 hour flight.

I can't pretend to understand the jokes behind all of them ("Jane"?), but it's not difficult to get the drift.

LOL, if its what I think it means. As in Plain Jane; and an old joke about any virgins left in America.