Virgin America Elevate - First time flying LAX-DFW F

Try VX for the first time. I can honestly say nothing special except for this leg the F seat beats anything serving this route, probably the same as those DL Recaro BE seats between JFK and LAX/SFO. The plane coming into LAX late, apparently no mop-up was done as I find bread crumbs on my seat. Boarding for F was not enforced so I had a couple sitting in Row 20 in front of me got through. I sat in 2F, they actually ran out of dinner and said the best they can do is to get me a chicken sandwich back in Y. USB port didn't work and I didn't want to bother my seatmate as he was using his functional port listening to iPod. First impression of is mediocre. Ground staff at LAX are much friendlier than United, as I'm desperately trying to find a replacement but haven't yet found.

They ran out of First Class meals completely ??
Or simply ran out of choices you'd be interested in ?
NO meals at all is pathetic, but running out of acceptable offerings is the harsh reality of sitting in the last row, seat F. Any airline can run out of your preferred choice(s).
The last time I flew UA SFO-DFW in First, the choice for the entire cabin was "cold chicken pasta salad, yes or no"

It also sounds odd that the "best they could do" from Coach was a chicken sandwich. Again, I'm thinking it's really: "the only thing on the Coach menu that appealed to me was a chicken sandwich". They usually have a decent selection of Coach items.
UA LAX to/from DFW is a CRJ-700. The only choice in First is a snack box. I'd appreciate a chicken sandwich on those trips. ;)

I find VX to be a refreshing change from the Legacy airlines but that doesn't mean they don't have their own issues. They are an airline so things like late planes happen and "turning around" a late arrival is usually a higher priority than the delay for a full cabin clean-up.

They ran out of First Class meals completely ??
Or simply ran out of choices you'd be interested in ?
NO meals at all is pathetic, but running out of acceptable offerings is the harsh reality of sitting in the last row, seat F. Any airline can run out of your preferred choice(s).
The last time I flew UA SFO-DFW in First, the choice for the entire cabin was "cold chicken pasta salad, yes or no"

It also sounds odd that the "best they could do" from Coach was a chicken sandwich. Again, I'm thinking it's really: "the only thing on the Coach menu that appealed to me was a chicken sandwich". They usually have a decent selection of Coach items.
UA LAX to/from DFW is a CRJ-700. The only choice in First is a snack box. I'd appreciate a chicken sandwich on those trips. ;)

I find VX to be a refreshing change from the Legacy airlines but that doesn't mean they don't have their own issues. They are an airline so things like late planes happen and "turning around" a late arrival is usually a higher priority than the delay for a full cabin clean-up.

They actually RAN OUT everything by the time they got to me and my seatmate-guess they only loaded 6 meals?
The staff @LAX doesn't seem engaged. I approached two agents-one in check-in and another at the gate area about a baggage issue, they don't seem to want to listen. That gave me a bad impression as I really want to give VX a chance. The circular gate area at LAX reminds me of EWR, very crowded and nobody cleaned up anything. Maybe it's just LAX as a whole.

No, it is LAX T3, the terminal that time forgot. The SFO facilities are lovely, some of the finest domestic US facilities available. That said, I've had varying degrees of service on VX F, from warm and engaged to cold and bitter, barely even any eye contact during a 6 hour flight.

Sorry to hear you didn't find flying in F with us anything special. We take our premium product very seriously and I find it hard to believe (not doubting you) that one of our flights would not have enough F class meals. We double-check with catering before we leave the gate that we have 9 meals (4 veggie, 5 meats) for our 8 F guests. What date and flight number was this? This is something that our catering partner needs to be made aware of. The only acceptable defense I can think of is if the flight was late, it was a quick turn, catering messed up the count, the FA noticed, but we weren't able to procure an extra meal or two before push-back. Sorry again. In 3 years of working for VX, I've never heard of this.

On a similar topic can i reserve a meat meal in advance?

On a similar topic can i reserve a meat meal in advance?

At this time, you are not able to reserve a meal type. However, keep in mind that we do service front to back on Eastbound flights and back to front Westbound. So you'll get your first meal choice if you select your seats according to that.;)

At this time, you are not able to reserve a meal type. However, keep in mind that we do service front to back on Eastbound flights and back to front Westbound. So you'll get your first meal choice if you select your seats according to that.;)

Darn! I choose 1A for my IAD - SFO - LAS flight. Is SFO - LAS westbound or eastbound?

Thank you VXCabinCrew for your information.

I find it hard to believe (not doubting you)

These two phrases are pretty much mutually exclusive - so either you believe it, or you doubt it. I appreciate your politeness, but it's one or the other I'm afraid

Darn! I choose 1A for my IAD - SFO - LAS flight. Is SFO - LAS westbound or eastbound?

Not to worry, you won't have a choice of meal on that route. One snack size fits all!

Darn! I choose 1A for my IAD - SFO - LAS flight. Is SFO - LAS westbound or eastbound?

Doesn't matter on SFO-LAS as your choice is yes or no, as EastBay1K noted.

http://sfo777.smugmug.com/Other/VirginWestJet/i-pr398JW/0/L/IMG0812-L.jpg

IMO, row 2 is always preferable to row 1. Much more private as your recline space and the F/Y cabin divider keeps Y a long way away. Also more room in row 2 unless row 1 reclines all the way back. Plus, despite the clear purple cabin bulkhead, row 1 is still essentially in the galley. Inconsistent and generally unrefined front cabin service has been my VX F experience.

These two phrases are pretty much mutually exclusive - so either you believe it, or you doubt it. I appreciate your politeness, but it's one or the other I'm afraid

I disagree.

Sorry to hear you didn't find flying in F with us anything special. We take our premium product very seriously and I find it hard to believe (not doubting you) that one of our flights would not have enough F class meals. We double-check with catering before we leave the gate that we have 9 meals (4 veggie, 5 meats) for our 8 F guests. What date and flight number was this? This is something that our catering partner needs to be made aware of. The only acceptable defense I can think of is if the flight was late, it was a quick turn, catering messed up the count, the FA noticed, but we weren't able to procure an extra meal or two before push-back. Sorry again. In 3 years of working for VX, I've never heard of this.

The flight indeed was coming in late. Was on #882 LAX-DFW on 6/20. Once the FA told us we are out of F choices, I opted for the sandwich from Y while my seatmate just wanted a Vodka on rocks. i just don't think that it's an equal exchange getting something from Y as I paid for F.

That whole experiance would be "first & last time" one for me! I have always wanted to VX as an alturnative UA. But given your post (& the sage comments by The Rock Star aka SFO777)...

I believe that I'll have to pass on ever flying VX!

The flight indeed was coming in late. Was on #882 LAX-DFW on 6/20. Once the FA told us we are out of F choices, I opted for the sandwich from Y while my seatmate just wanted a Vodka on rocks. i just don't think that it's an equal exchange getting something from Y as I paid for F.

Thanks for the information. I'll email our catering department so that they can follow up with our catering company and the crew. This is really disappointing to hear. We have a lot of AA and UA frequent fliers who have switched to us after trying our F product. I have to admit if I had your experience for my first time on VX, I would be hesitant to pay for F again. I'll follow up on this.

Thank you VXCabinCrew for your information.

+1^. Count me as a former UA flyer who has enjoyed the switch to VX. I recently flew F on SAN-SFO-SEA and found the FA's to be attentive and friendly.

Thanks for the information. I'll email our catering department so that they can follow up with our catering company and the crew. This is really disappointing to hear. We have a lot of AA and UA frequent fliers who have switched to us after trying our F product. I have to admit if I had your experience for my first time on VX, I would be hesitant to pay for F again. I'll follow up on this.

Thanks for you follow-up. Hopefully I'll try VX again in the near future.

+1^. Count me as a former UA flyer who has enjoyed the switch to VX. I recently flew F on SAN-SFO-SEA and found the FA's to be attentive and friendly.

That is great to hear!! Hope to see you onboard!

IMO, row 2 is always preferable to row 1. Much more private as your recline space and the F/Y cabin divider keeps Y a long way away. Also more room in row 2 unless row 1 reclines all the way back. Plus, despite the clear purple cabin bulkhead, row 1 is still essentially in the galley. Inconsistent and generally unrefined front cabin service has been my VX F experience.

If row 1 reclines does the seat go right in your face/

If row 1 reclines does the seat go right in your face/

At 55" nowhere near into your face.

Thanks for your input, everyone. For those who are talking about inconsistent service in FC, that is most likely due to a new teammate who was juniored into working FC by senior teammates. We are currently looking at revising this policy and not allowing anyone to work FC until they have a certain amount of inflight experience. I always opt to work FC if I am flying with a new teammate who is just out of training. It's not fair to the teammate or the guests to force a newbie into doing it. I was juniored into working in FC on my 3rd trip after training and I was a nervous wreck and looking back I see that I overlooked several key elements of FC service.

Also, stay tuned for our amazing new uniforms debuting next month!

Thanks again for all of the feedback.

What seats were you and your friend sitting in?

OP was in 2F.

Doesn't matter on SFO-LAS as your choice is yes or no, as EastBay1K noted.

http://sfo777.smugmug.com/Other/VirginWestJet/i-pr398JW/0/L/IMG0812-L.jpg

IMO, row 2 is always preferable to row 1. Much more private as your recline space and the F/Y cabin divider keeps Y a long way away. Also more room in row 2 unless row 1 reclines all the way back. Plus, despite the clear purple cabin bulkhead, row 1 is still essentially in the galley. Inconsistent and generally unrefined front cabin service has been my VX F experience.

Still better than what any other U.S. airline would serve on such a short flight and VX even loads glassware for F pax.

Sorry to hear you didn't find flying in F with us anything special. We take our premium product very seriously and I find it hard to believe (not doubting you) that one of our flights would not have enough F class meals. We double-check with catering before we leave the gate that we have 9 meals (4 veggie, 5 meats) for our 8 F guests.

What if the F cabin is not fully booked? Do they still cater it fully in anticipation that people will upgrade? I'm wondering if people were upgraded at the gate on this flight, which is why it was not fully catered.

What if the F cabin is not fully booked? Do they still cater it fully in anticipation that people will upgrade? I'm wondering if people were upgraded at the gate on this flight, which is why it was not fully catered.


Yes, First Class is catered full at all times, even if there are no guests booked.

While VXCabinCrew may not believe me, I also had a similar experience on SEA-LAX a couple of years ago. I was on the afternoon flight and was seated in 2F. That wasn't my first experience on VX and I'd found generally the staff to be pretty OK (better than UA, on average). The male f/a serving first on that particular flight wasn't feeling particularly hospitable on that flight. I had stored a bag under the seat in front of me which he gruffly removed to the overhead bin (at that point full in F, so it went a row behind in Y) after admonishing me. Delta uses the same seats on its transcon 757 fleet (BusinessElite) and they don't have a rule against under-seat storage. Anyway, it started off fairly poorly.

I had fallen asleep on takeoff and woke shortly after he had started cabin service (after he took meal orders, before he delivered the meals). He ignored me, despite seeing I was wide awake, until I flagged him down for a drink. He didn't offer a meal so I asked and was told they had miscatered and ran out already (without any apology). He said - I remember his words exactly - "I can try to get you something from the back if you really want it." Thanks for the favor, don't knock yourself out there.

I abstained and haven't had a flight on VX since. The routes are still limited enough that they don't work for me as a primary carrier, and I haven't found any "wow" reason to go out of my way to book them.

It's a common issue. I fly monthly either in MCS or F and I never count on the meal in first as being available. Just about every time I've ordered, they're out of my choice. It's annoying, especially when you consider there's only 8 people there tops. It's not as if they're going to waste a tremendous amount of food by overstocking.

Here's my bigger beef with F though: ordering. I realize (or at least I assume) that they want you to have a more personal interaction with your flight attendant and thus you have to call them over to order and so the on-screen system is disabled but this stinks. For instance, I want a specific sandwich but I'd also like to see what other sandwiches are available... Why can't I order off the screen above and beyond the paper menu I'm given? Even if the screen didn't let me order but did show me the current menu that would be great. It's really frustrating the way it is now especially when you consider that often they're out of a meal in F and you have to get something from the back.

For this reason, I prefer row 3 of MCS. I don't have to stow my screen during take-off and final approach, I can order whatever I want without feeling like I'm constantly hassling the pour flight attendant and I can jam my 11 month old in the center seat that no one books because I'm the guy that books 3a and 3c. Yeah, you hate me. :)

+1^. Count me as a former UA flyer who has enjoyed the switch to VX. I recently flew F on SAN-SFO-SEA and found the FA's to be attentive and friendly.

I have had a mixed experience with VX cabin crews, but none have been particularly outstanding.

Removed comments: posted in wrong thread