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.
^^^
Now the minor bad news: In selecting seats, it appears that exit rows and bulkhead seats cost $15 extra.
Actually I think this is good news and intelligent market-based pricing. Why give away products that have value which can be monetized? This means that I will be able to snag an exit row seat if I am willing to pay for it, v. needing 1P status (50k miles annually) for the same product on UA.
Originally Posted by
pinniped
Nope. Therein lies the problem - why would I shift business away from the Star Alliance to a very small carrier unlinked to anyone else? The only compelling reason I'd fly Virgin America is if I have good tie-ins at least to Europe. Would prefer a partnership that can get me to Asia too, but I'd start with Virgin Atlantic's own metal to London.
Makes sense if you pay for international travel and aren't fed up with your legacy carrier's service. But for those of us who live in Virgin territory, i.e. SFO and fly mostly domestic to world-class cities like NYC, Vegas, etc. the superior product will be very attractive.
Originally Posted by
pinniped
These same reasons are why I don't fly a lot of U.S. niche carriers. When I redeem awards, I'm doing it for leisure travel and I want maximum choices, maximum destinations, many partner options. Love the Virgin idea, but I hope they tie it in to the rest of their network.
Agreed. But even a program like UA Mileage Plus - which theoretically offers "maximum choices" - is a sham when there is zero saver award inventory in business class on the most popular international routes.