[tweakmonkey]

If you're needing to fly between some major cities, check the rates offered by Virgin America. It cost me $70 each way to fly from Seattle to San Francisco, a direct flight. I was on the first flight they offered (March 18th) on this route.

Other than being cheap, VA also has a few cool features that make it stand out. The planes were like new and super techy. The seats were comfy leather with big headrests (inside the side panel I read they were designed by Recaro, which I'm assuming is the same company that designs race seats for cars). The legroom sucked which is to be expected I suppose. Getting onto the plane, the interior is lit with cool blues and purples, and there's ambient music playing like you're going out for a cocktail.

The best feature about the airline is the built-in console at every seat. You've got a little remote on your right armrest, that can pull out if you want to play games. The console has a 9" touchscreen LCD that's right in front of your seat. You're given the options of playing games, chatting, watching TV, movies, or listening to music. There's a headphone jack but they give everyone headphones when you get on the plane. The service is FREE unless you chose to watch movies (about 20 to choose from) or watch Premium TV.

The TV had the basics, about 15 channels from MTV to Cartoon Network, MSNBC and CNN, etc. There's a browser to see what's up and even be notified when your show comes on.

You can also chat with other customers. You can message someone in any seat and invite them to chat, or chat in general chat rooms with other customers. There's also a chat room for each TV channel so you can discuss shows with passengers while you watch them.

The games are Doom, Asteroids, and various Linux port arcade classics. The controller sucked because it lacked analog, but I played through the first level of Doom just to say I've done it.

The music choices are various rock, r&b, jazz, and even techno stations that stream from the satellite. I didn't listen to many, but there were about 16 choices.

My favorite feature of the console was the Google Map. You can click a button on the screen to see a real-time Gmap of your flight, including airpeed, outside temperature, altitude, and remaining miles of the trip. It's especially nice if you've got a window seat (you pick your exact seat when you register your flight) and want to identify landmarks.

Considering the flight was so cheap compared with other brands (half the price of Southwest or United in my case) and the features, I couldn't imagine flying with another company if this is an option. The problem is that you can only use VirginAmerica for major city connections.

This was a long post, but I thought everyone should know that Virgin America kicks ass. Next time you fly somewhere, see if it's an option!

[bigwill51534]

I've flown with AirTran, and they were very similar. Incredible prices, great service, and I've only had one delay. And for that delay, I got a full refund on my tickets with a written apology from the pilot of the aircraft. Pretty cool stuff.

Also, I reccomend this to any military member. Check for airline tickets on Welcome to Norfolk International Airport . They have a check box for military rates, which saves HUNDREDS on damn near any ticket. They offer tickets from any airport to any airport, too. Just really convenient.

~Will Courtier~

[MSP]

Richard Branson is the man. He's got his own island for Jah's sake! I hate him, and Jack Johnson too!

[hans5849]

Yep, not flying out of Spokane, sorry.

I don't see Seattle on their website either.

Maybe wrong site Virgin.com - The global gateway to the Virgin Group

Flights from Virgin America | Virgin Flights

They still need to add Chicago and Atlanta.

[gB dAvId x]

That sorta sucks cause you can only fly to like 5 places in the US...

make that 7 places to fly from, 6 to fly to, not to many options...

[tweakmonkey]

Yeah it's only major routes, but it's nice for me because I can fly from Seattle to LA or SF, which connects me to all my friends in California. I know there's routes to the east coast, too. Maybe it'll expand later, but it's still better than spending twice the price for a crappier airline between the major areas.

Seattle is 90 miles south of here, so I took a shuttle ($30 each way). Still saved me a lot though.

[mistawiskas]

But man! That's way cheaper than driving @ $3.50/gallon fuel!

[Scooby]

I normally fly out of burbank I hate driving to LAX... So i guess I'm stuck with southwest.

But, that being said. I flew to san fran a couple weekends ago, and it cost a good bit less than had I driven.

[couturedharlot]

that's awesome. now i know what airline to fly down to san fran on thanks for the review!

[gB dAvId x]

Sorry for the bump but I saw this ad on digg, looks like they use linux

CrunchGear » Archive » All About Linux 2008: Penguins fly! An interview with Charles Ogilvie, Virgin America’s head of In-Flight Entertainment

[tweakmonkey]

Yeah, the games are all linux-based. I played some Asteroids and Circus Atari clones and both were Linux ports.

[Chainblade]

wow how times have changed since the last time I've been on a plane (10 years ago). I never knew that planes had all that stuff now lol. that's pretty crazy, especially for that price.

[gB dAvId x]

Originally Posted by Chainblade

wow how times have changed since the last time I've been on a plane (10 years ago). I never knew that planes had all that stuff now lol. that's pretty crazy, especially for that price.

I think only this airline minus a couple others have this. I flew to portland oregon last year or so and southwest didnt have any of this. Maybe in 5 years or so more planes will have this

[Mr. Ali]

Originally Posted by gB dAvId x

I think only this airline minus a couple others have this. I flew to portland oregon last year or so and southwest didnt have any of this. Maybe in 5 years or so more planes will have this

actually a ton of airlines have this. southwest is an exception.