Does anyone know the timetable for when Virgin America will expand it's airport coverage? Before it started flying, it listed SAN as one of the initial airports that it would be at by the end of 2007. Well, it is September and we haven't heard anything yet.
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San Diego was named before the launch as one of the first cities VX would fly to. It will likely be the next location service starts at - and then more cities will be added.
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It is - but not in the short term.
Here's an article that's no longer live on the web, that I pulled up using the cached copy on Google:
Virgin America Identifies First Six Destinations; Announces Further 40 Cities Under Consideration
San Francisco, New York, Washington, DC, Los Angeles, San Diego and Las Vegas to be Served Within Nine Months of Operation, Upon Govt Approval
Burlingame, Calif. (January 31, 2007) -- Virgin America, the new start-up airline to be based in San Francisco, announced today four additional cities the carrier plans to serve, pending its certification by the U.S. Department of Transportation.
The airline has previously announced its inaugural flight will be between San Francisco and New York City (JFK). Within nine months of operation, Virgin America also plans to serve Washington, DC (Dulles), Los Angeles (LAX), San Diego and Las Vegas.
Virgin America expects to serve as many as 10 cities within a year of operation and up to 30 cities within five years of service. Additional cities under Virgin America’s consideration include: Atlanta, Austin, Baltimore, Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers, Hartford, Houston, Indianapolis, Jacksonville, Kansas City, Miami, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Nashville, Newark, New Orleans, Orlando, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Providence, Portland, Ore., Raleigh-Durham, Sacramento, Salt Lake City, San Antonio, San Jose, Calif., Sarasota, Seattle, St. Louis, Tampa and West Palm Beach.
The airline is inviting travelers to visit its website, www.letVAfly.com, to rank where Virgin America should fly next.
“It’s exciting to share our plans for our first destinations we plan to serve this year,” said Fred Reid, Virgin America’s CEO. “Of course, we’re still working hard to complete our certification process. Considering the far reaching, significant changes our investors recently made to the company to address the Department’s concerns, we are hopeful to complete the certification process at the earliest possible date.”
Virgin America recently unveiled its onboard cabin, including first class seats with 55 inches of seat pitch (legroom) and massage chairs, as well as mood lighting and a digital inflight entertainment system providing on-demand moves and TV, games, music and online chat rooms – and even self-service mini-bars for snacks and beverages available throughout the flight.
“This is a product that will knock travelers’ socks off!” Mr. Reid said. “But it’s the U.S. traveler who stands to lose most if Virgin America is denied the chance to fly. We’re inviting our future guests around the nation to visit www.letVAfly.com, sign our online petition supporting more competition, a better airline experience and lower fares – and rank where we should fly first!”
The airline intends to create more than 1,000 new U.S. jobs in its first year and up to 5,000 within five years. In addition to this direct job creation, by its fifth year Virgin America will be responsible for indirectly creating approximately 50,000 new U.S. jobs in total.
About Virgin America: Virgin America, a 'new generation' low-fare airline, intends to launch scheduled domestic airline service in 2007 upon government approval. U.S.-owned and operated, Virgin America is based at San Francisco International Airport. To learn more about getting Virgin America off the ground, visit www.letvafly.com.
San Diego was named before the launch as one of the first cities VX would fly to. It will likely be the next location service starts at - and then more cities will be added.
I knew SAN was one of the first cities they mentioned, that's why I asked! Glad to hear it is soon!
