Apologies for the excitedly American title but i’ve just been subjected to two weeks of over the top smiling, tip hungry barmen, casino dealers, parking attendants, and hotel staff. I’ve also had the pleasure of flying with Virgin America on a domestic flight from LAX (Los Angeles) to SFO (San Francisco International), and it was bleedin deadly.
I had previously been impressed by my Southwest Airlines flight from SFO to Las Vegas – the flight was punctual, the staff friendly, and we weren’t harassed onto the plane like cows to the slaughter, as is usually the experience with Ryanair. For those not in the know, Southwest have been going for yeeeears, and was set up by a whiskey swigging lawyer by the name of Herb Kelleher, and it was the first low cost airline in the States. When Michael O’Leary was tasked with turning Ryanair’s fortunes around just over a decade ago, his first port of call was a visit to Southwest Airlines to figure out how they managed to achieve low costs.
Southwest have no assigned seating, but they do have boarding groups which makes things easy. They also give you a free coffee or soft drink, a package-o-nuts, and a smile. The planes have superb legroom, nice seats, and aren’t garish and decked out in horrible yellow and blue. A bit like buses, they do multiple stops – for example our plane stopped at Vegas, some people (including me) got off, but others stayed on the plane and waited for extra passengers to board for the continued journey to St. Louis. Clever way of saving on costs and splitting a journey to make money from each leg.
Anyhoo, I thought i’d seen it all – a great low cost airline that doesn’t try and flog you all sorts of shit, with great service and a free drink and snack on board. That is, of course, until I boarded that Virgin America flight to SFO.
The last minute ticket was $79 one way – not bad in comparison to the $59 one way with Southwest i’d booked a few weeks in advance. I checked in online, and dropping my baggage off at the fast drop area was a piece of piss, with very friendly and helpful staff who clearly loved their jobs.
Whilst waiting for the boarding call for my flight, I was amused to hear Virgin America’s spin on final calls for flights. Instead of the usual ‘Will Mr. Man get to the gate immediately’, I heard ‘Please, would Mr. Man come to Gate 14A as soon as you can – the flight is fully boarded, and we don’t want to start the party without you!’. Totally cheesy, but it stood out from the other announcements, so the silly old git who is about to miss their flight might actually listen up and get it.
Boarding was easy, and seating was assigned. Virgin America planes have ‘mood lighting’ installed, and the music when you board is quite club loungey, which initially seems overly cheesy but I found it actually did make me feel slightly more relaxed! Free soft drinks and coffees are provided, and extremely quickly too. The best bit is the in flight entertainment.
Built into the headrest of the seat in front of you is a screen that looks like any screen you’d get on a long haul flight – but this is a domestic carrier. Not only does the touch screen let you choose from various live tv channels, passengers can also purchase movies, play games (a brilliant gaming control pad pops out of each seat!), and read news, but it is also possible to purchase boozy drinks and meals right from your screen. Virgin America is a cashless airline, so all you do is select what you want, click on the ‘checkout’ button, swipe your credit card in a swiper built into each screen, and you’re done. Your order is pinged over to the stewardess and she delivers what you want right away.
Speaking of the stewardesses, they’re probably the hottest ones i’ve ever experienced – ever! Farrah and Tiffany were looking after us on this particular trip, and were ably assisted by Jonathan who seemed geeky but also looked rather happy to be spending his working day with two total hotties. Farrah was my favourite, with blonde hair, a playboy bunny face, and a body to match. Tiffany was brunette and slightly older, but still hot. I’m thinking Richard Branson has a strict screening process for all his employees.
As time goes on and carriers in Europe like Ryanair and Aer Lingus will have to succumb to increased oil prices, they’ll have to move away from just ‘low cost’ to ‘lower cost with great service’ to make sure they keep customers coming. If they need inspiration, they should check out Virgin America.