First, the good: VA is now selling tickets. Snagged an SFO-LAX r/t, with one leg in coach, the other in first, for the same price AA/UA are selling coach. A new program to join, a new set of rewards possibilities, perhaps a new airline to love. I have high hopes both for civilized service from SFO and more reasonable prices.... So far so good.

The new EleVAte program seems to allow a free r/t on any seat, any flight, after 4 r/t's or 4900 points. What constitutes a "point" isn't defined anywhere obvious. And whether the LAX r/ts count toward the 4 r/ts isn't stated equivocally, either. Here's hoping they clarify this, and do it soon and in our favor.

Now the minor bad news: In selecting seats, it appears that exit rows and bulkhead seats cost $15 extra.

One worrisome note: this appeared on the website on my second trip there, AFTER I booked my ticket--

"Virgin America does not currently have authority from the Department of Transportation to operate the services for which your ticket is being issued. You may, upon request, cancel your ticket and obtain a full refund at any time before we start operations. If we have not started operations by the date of your ticketed travel, we will make reasonable efforts to arrange substitute air transportation for you, at a cost of up to 200% of your Virgin America ticket. If we cannot arrange substitute transportation for you, we will refund to you 200% of the price paid for your Virgin America ticket."

OTOH, before the Anti-Virgin folks start bashing them, I'd almost welcome a delay in their operations, so I could collect a few freebies ahead of time..... spoken like a true longtime FT member...

Finally, it took a couple times thru the browser before I could actually complete the sale; there was an "Internal Error" . There is also a problem with their "Talk To Us" link; when I went to attempt this, it asked for an ID and password. PUtting in my EleVAte code was rejected. Pretty neat trick to avoid dealing with the customer service issue..........

Since it's still only 6 hours into their operation, I guess I can't be too critical, but "HEY FRED---- LET'S GET IT RIGHT, HUH?" (Rant, and report, over)