Popping my Virgin America Cherry

I flew up to Seattle for a last minute job this last weekend, and I decided to give the new Virgin America a whirl, and I must say, they are fantastic. All the subtle coolness factors from booking my ticket online with their well designed site and brand, to checking in, and the on plane experience. They are definitely targeting a hip target market. I’m think they are the Apple of the air carrier world.

Here are a few things I liked that give them strong differentiation than the other carriers.
1. Young hip branding. Their brand is simple and strong.
2. Fares are relatively cheaper, especially within the 2 week advance. I flew economy up and first class back down for the same price as United’s economy tickets.
3. Check in counters are modern design, and all flat screen computers
4. The gate staff girls are young and highly attractive
5. They were playing pop music at the gate
6. Once on the plane, they have a laid back fun vibe.
7. Attractive female flight attendants
8. Great purple lighting
9. Great leather chair design. From the back they look like Star Wars storm troopers
10. The normal safety video was a funny, witty, and somewhat sarcastic cartoon.
11. The RED entertainment system is a screen on everyone’s seat and is touch screen.
12. They use Google Maps to identify where the plane is.
13. They play cool downtempo chill music when the airplane is taxiing.
14. They have electrical plugs in every seat so you can use your computer the whole flight.
15. They will have wifi and ethernet internet access around the end of the summer.
16. The cool looking water bar in the back.
17. They use Method hand soap in the bathrooms.

Those are just some of the subtle differences of the airline. Enough to stand out. I fly quite a bit, and have grown to appreciate these small nuances.

Here are a few photos from the SD750: