Oct 25, 2015, 8:39 pm
Last edit by: aw
Listing of Trip Reports Written About VX / Virgin America
NOTE: Wikis are community property; please help update the information in this wiki.
NOTE: Wikis are community property; please help update the information in this wiki.
Just post a link to your Trip Report, or write a mini report of your Virgin America trip in this thread so a link can be added here.
JFK
- SFO-JFK in F with pics(July 11, thanks SFO777)
- NY, NY in Y (on VX) (May 29, thanks EIPremier)
- Virgin America revisit JFK-SFO-LAX in F with pix link(Feb 20, thanks EIPremier)
- Return in Virgin America First Class JFK-SFO(Aug 13 07, thanks Carfield)
- Virgin America trip report SFO-JFK 11/17/07 (Nov 23 07, thanks nermaljcat)
LAS
- First VX experience [4 Mar]
- Any first impressions of Virgin America? (post #10) [24 Oct 07]
SAN
- VX 1864 SFO-SAN A319 N525VA(July 2, thanks EIPremier)
- Virgin America SAN-SFO-SAN
SEA
- VX inaugural SEA-LAX-SFO-SEA (10/10 by prismwiz)
- SEA-LAX weekend run: AS down/VX up (Space, drink and good meal in F aboard California Dreaming for $81)
- Short report on VX Inaugural SFO-SEA and SEA-SFO flights
- Short report on VX Inaugural SFO-SEA and SEA-SFO flights (post #4 noted below)
- Virgin America - a new and better way to fly to SEA; Inaugural report in F and Y
- InAugural Day VIRGIN America SEA-SFO return PICS & VIDEO
SFO
- Getting high with Richard Branson: Virgin America's virgin flight (lots of pics)
- Virgin America Trip Report VX 851 SFO to LAX 08AUG2007 FIRST CLASS
- A tale of two "first class" experiences flying SFO-LAX with plenty of pics
- VX F SFO-SEA w/return on UA
- VA vs UA trip report SFO-LAX-SFO
- Virgin America followup report LAX-SFO-SEA + Dark A319 + pix link
- Weekend in LAX (B6, VX (F), AA (C), B6)
- Virgin America - Lots of hype, not much substance
- Impressed!
- Goodbye Ted (post #40)
YYZ
- Aren’t you a little young for RTW trips already? (VX F/LH F/LX F/TG F/CX J/QF J/AA F) (thanks Short hair Francis; July 2010)
General
Virgin America: remove the makeup and you'll find ugly
Virgin America - Lots of hype, not much substance
Which is Better: United Economy Plus or Virgin America Main Cabin?
Is Virgin America New Y Seat Better Than SQ New Y?
Goodbye TED!
(Thanks, AZ Travels the World, for re-titling this thread. Please add your links below, to Trip Reports or VX mini report threads. ^)
Last updated 27 Jul 2010 by BiziBB.
Thanks to BiziBB, who started this thread, and ShortHairFrancis.
VX Trip Reports [Master Thread]
Jun 13, 2008, 3:41 pm
#31
Join Date: Aug 2007
Programs: VX, UA 2P
Posts: 968
Does this count?
Jaunted has posted a(nother) trip report:
http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/6/...+Virgin+Virgin
Barely 10 months old, Virgin America has dazzled American consumers with its competitive pricing, its shiny new planes and its alluring extras. But does it still hold up as a carrier? Jaunted's own Ellen Wernecke, a Virgin virgin, has been saving herself for this opportunity...
First things first: My Virgin America flight this morning, a routine trip between JFK and SFO, took off and departed approximately half an hour off schedule. I barely noticed this, though, because that's become an accepted industry standard. Indeed, thanks to some scarring experiences with United Express in my formative years, I still feel inclined to be thankful when my plane takes off at all.
That said, I would definitely fly Virgin America again based on my experiences today, despite some minor technical issues.
To cut to those right away, our flight's RED entertainment system was afflicted by a minor problem and a major one: Amusingly, the movies for offer were incorrectly labeled, causing a woman behind me to get the weepie "Atonement" when she was expecting the happy-go-lucky "Juno." (But it gave me a little giggle to see the poster of Daniel Day-Lewis in "There Will Be Blood" with the tag line, "Cocaine! The Musical." Is that what that milkshake bit was all about?)
More significantly, the much touted order-from-your-seat food system was out of commission "because our system is from hell," a flight attendant told me. I rang the call bell to ask if there was any meal service at all and found that the attendants had been taking cash for snack boxes in the absence of the usual system. It would have been much worse to suspend food service entirely on a six-hour flight, for which I was uncharacteristically unprepared.
Now that I've griped, I will say my flight was a very civil and pleasant experience, which is rare for domestic travel these days. Boarding was largely logjam-free, perhaps due to the plane's deeper than usual storage bins. And the novelty of flying in such a new-looking plane hasn't worn off yet; the Macbook-style white plastic shells over the seat backs are still pristine, even if they do require some Nair-smelling chemical to keep them looking good.
The entertainment selection was great. I enjoyed 2008 Academy Award winner "The Counterfeiters" without any obvious censorship and found some of my favorite bands in the listening section. I was itching to try out the plane chat room but found myself alone in it... Come on, guys! And to mention something largely inconsequential, I noticed that all of the flight attendants working my trip were male. I don't think such a factor really contributed to the service we got, but it suggests a systemic willingness to do things differently--and not in the here's-another-fee sense.
All Virgin has to do now is keep piling up the cash so it can stay competitive with its fares. It's nice to be able to believe the hype for once.
Barely 10 months old, Virgin America has dazzled American consumers with its competitive pricing, its shiny new planes and its alluring extras. But does it still hold up as a carrier? Jaunted's own Ellen Wernecke, a Virgin virgin, has been saving herself for this opportunity...
First things first: My Virgin America flight this morning, a routine trip between JFK and SFO, took off and departed approximately half an hour off schedule. I barely noticed this, though, because that's become an accepted industry standard. Indeed, thanks to some scarring experiences with United Express in my formative years, I still feel inclined to be thankful when my plane takes off at all.
That said, I would definitely fly Virgin America again based on my experiences today, despite some minor technical issues.
To cut to those right away, our flight's RED entertainment system was afflicted by a minor problem and a major one: Amusingly, the movies for offer were incorrectly labeled, causing a woman behind me to get the weepie "Atonement" when she was expecting the happy-go-lucky "Juno." (But it gave me a little giggle to see the poster of Daniel Day-Lewis in "There Will Be Blood" with the tag line, "Cocaine! The Musical." Is that what that milkshake bit was all about?)
More significantly, the much touted order-from-your-seat food system was out of commission "because our system is from hell," a flight attendant told me. I rang the call bell to ask if there was any meal service at all and found that the attendants had been taking cash for snack boxes in the absence of the usual system. It would have been much worse to suspend food service entirely on a six-hour flight, for which I was uncharacteristically unprepared.
Now that I've griped, I will say my flight was a very civil and pleasant experience, which is rare for domestic travel these days. Boarding was largely logjam-free, perhaps due to the plane's deeper than usual storage bins. And the novelty of flying in such a new-looking plane hasn't worn off yet; the Macbook-style white plastic shells over the seat backs are still pristine, even if they do require some Nair-smelling chemical to keep them looking good.
The entertainment selection was great. I enjoyed 2008 Academy Award winner "The Counterfeiters" without any obvious censorship and found some of my favorite bands in the listening section. I was itching to try out the plane chat room but found myself alone in it... Come on, guys! And to mention something largely inconsequential, I noticed that all of the flight attendants working my trip were male. I don't think such a factor really contributed to the service we got, but it suggests a systemic willingness to do things differently--and not in the here's-another-fee sense.
All Virgin has to do now is keep piling up the cash so it can stay competitive with its fares. It's nice to be able to believe the hype for once.
Jun 18, 2008, 7:59 am
#32
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: San Mateo, CA
Programs: AA - LFT GLD 1MM, UA - 2P, SPG - LFT Plat, Hyatt - Plat, HH - Gold, Avis - CHM
Posts: 413
i flew sfo/iad 6/5 and 6/8. i am pretty impressed overall. my background has been almost completely exlcusive to american and united for the past eight years.
sfo/iad no major issues. i crashed my wife's red b/c i tried to send her a chat message. it was funny though, since we had bought our tickets at separate times and were in different rows, b/c when the chat came through, our two rows started buzzinga bout the ability to send chat messages. also this plane had useless cupholders built into the tray.
iad/sfo red broke. rebooted three times, but kept breaking/locking up. they finally just shut it off. the problem is -- since red is so integrated, no food/drink ordering, and worse off for me, NO POWER! whats the point of having power plugs if it is still tied to your ife system?! my laptop battery bled down to about 37% when they decided to turn red back on. when we landed, they announced everyone would get a $25 voucher ($50 for first class), which is very proactive unlike the legacy carriers where you typically have to initiate the complaint.
sfo/iad no major issues. i crashed my wife's red b/c i tried to send her a chat message. it was funny though, since we had bought our tickets at separate times and were in different rows, b/c when the chat came through, our two rows started buzzinga bout the ability to send chat messages. also this plane had useless cupholders built into the tray.
iad/sfo red broke. rebooted three times, but kept breaking/locking up. they finally just shut it off. the problem is -- since red is so integrated, no food/drink ordering, and worse off for me, NO POWER! whats the point of having power plugs if it is still tied to your ife system?! my laptop battery bled down to about 37% when they decided to turn red back on. when we landed, they announced everyone would get a $25 voucher ($50 for first class), which is very proactive unlike the legacy carriers where you typically have to initiate the complaint.
Jun 20, 2008, 10:15 am
#33
Join Date: Aug 2005
Posts: 20
VX trip report, SFO_LAS
SFO-LAS RT June 18. I have ~12,000 eleVAte points but for some reason I couldn't buy a ticket online. Phone reservations were helpful (but couldn't solve the problem but issued a ticket at no charge and then sent me to eleVAte who also couldn't solve the problem). Very nice agents. Checked in at the gate; a little disorganized. Asked twice if I was checking bags; when I asked for the address to write VX (other issue) he told me to go to the web site (uh, thanks). No warning that this was the dark plane. Flights were fine (even with the "Nemesis"). My plans changed and I had to fly back that night so cancelled my WN flight at the airport (great agents!) and walked over to VX at 8:30 to buy a ticket on the 9:25 flight. I spent 10-15 minutes with the agent (I kid you not) because she couldn't figure out how to issue a ticket. The supervisor was right next to me having a personal conversation with the other agent (no one else in line) and occasionally came over to help but then went back to her personal conversation. Bizarre. Couldn't figure out how much to charge me (I didn't care - just wanted to make the flight) and finally issued the ticket but, get this, couldn't tell me what the charge was. When I looked at the boarding pass I realized they gave me 22E so I asked for an aisle seat (apparently eleVAte works differently than most airline programs by putting you in the lease desirable seat); she cheerfully assigned me to 6c (thanks!) and told me that she'd get my eleVAte number in (they couldn't figure out how to do it while issuing the ticket). No offer to upgrade to first for $50 or buy a premium seat. Next day I checked my profile and the flight was listed but no cost was listed - called VX and they told me $69 and that they'd send me an email receipt - they did and the flight was $69 (what a deal). Flight was fine - about 50% full (as was my afternoon outbound). Trying out B6 next week for the first time and I'll write a comparison review at a later date.
Jun 24, 2008, 3:42 pm
#34
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: SEA, but up and down the coast a lot
Programs: Oceanic Airlines Gold Elite
Posts: 20,397
I took another VX down, AS up LAX-SEA-LAX trip: here's the VX side. The AS side is here.
VX flight 708 leaves at the groan-inducing hour of 6:15, so time to get up at oh-dark-thirty and roll to the airport. I had decided to buy an exit row seat for $15 and appreciated the leg room- it was seemingly roomier pitch than my AS F seat going back. I noticed the gate agents seating a family in that row WITHOUT paying the extra $15, so they could be together. Ah, well, at least my ticket was still about $100.
I spent the flight flipping channels on Red: some TV + the VX music channels, plus occasionally. I really liked the ambient-electronica radio channel and was even able to doze a bit (which is very hard for me on plane flights).
I have to say I liked the experience on the VX flight in Y more than the AS one in F, though it's a bit of an unfair comparison considering the AS flight was 2 hours late, but Red + mood lighting + larger coach seats with plenty of leg room in exit rows + BOB that's pretty nice (didn't buy any, but preferred it to what was served for free on AS)... well, it seemed more humane. Both companies have good customer service from their onboard teams and gate staff, so it's not like AS is awful- but having modern planes really does help.
VX flight 708 leaves at the groan-inducing hour of 6:15, so time to get up at oh-dark-thirty and roll to the airport. I had decided to buy an exit row seat for $15 and appreciated the leg room- it was seemingly roomier pitch than my AS F seat going back. I noticed the gate agents seating a family in that row WITHOUT paying the extra $15, so they could be together. Ah, well, at least my ticket was still about $100.
I spent the flight flipping channels on Red: some TV + the VX music channels, plus occasionally. I really liked the ambient-electronica radio channel and was even able to doze a bit (which is very hard for me on plane flights).
I have to say I liked the experience on the VX flight in Y more than the AS one in F, though it's a bit of an unfair comparison considering the AS flight was 2 hours late, but Red + mood lighting + larger coach seats with plenty of leg room in exit rows + BOB that's pretty nice (didn't buy any, but preferred it to what was served for free on AS)... well, it seemed more humane. Both companies have good customer service from their onboard teams and gate staff, so it's not like AS is awful- but having modern planes really does help.
Jul 1, 2008, 2:42 pm
#35
Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: San Francisco Bay Area
Programs: AS MVP, Elevate, AAdvantage, Mileage Plus
Posts: 1,992
VX 1864 SFO-SAN A319 N525VA
Check-in:
Arrived at the International Terminal at 6:00 for the 7:00 departure (traffic was very light). The VX ticket counter had long lines for both agent check-in/rebooking and the kiosk check-in, although there was no line for F check-in. The worst part: VX had those doing kiosk check-in and web bag drop queue up in the same line. This caused unnecessary delay for those of us who had checked in online and were simply trying to check bags, as most of the people in line were waiting for a kiosk to open so they could check-in. VX needs to follow the example of other airlines and have separate lines for web bag drop and kiosk check-in. Also, installing more check-in kiosks at SFO would also be a good idea as VX continues to expand. But, at least VX still offers one checked bag free of charge.
Boarding/Departure: The gate agents were convivial. Boarding began about 30 minutes prior to departure. The flight was only about 2/3 full, which perhaps explains why the agents simply boarded First Class, and then called for groups A through E to board all at once. We left the gate about five minutes early.
Aircraft: The cabin was clean, and the mood lighting was on. The black leather seats on the new A319s are nice---possibly a little softer and more comfortable than on the older A320s, even though the seat design is the same. The 32" pitch was adequate. I find that the TV is at an uncomfortably close viewing distance when the seat in front of me is fully reclined.
Red: Main problem today was that most of the satellite TV channels were not working throughout the entire flight. The four channels that did work seemed reliable. The program guide was also unavailable, and the "shop," "read," and web functionalities are still not availability. One improvement is that there were about 35 English language films for $5-$7 (new releases all seem to be $7), plus five feature-length foreign language movies, which I think is a new feature. There are also the foreign language TV shows. And, as before, there are still a number of short five-minute films, mostly made by students, which are free. I watched a couple of these short flicks during the 70 minute flight today, and then perused the excellent music selection.
Snacks/Drinks: Just the basic selection of granola bars, chips, snack mix, cookies, fruit leather were available for $1-2 per item. No meal options were listed. The price for beer/wine/liquor was $6, except for sparkling wine at $10. But, soft drinks continue to be complimentary. And, at least they offer real half and half, unlike WN.
Cabin crew: Pretty standard--not especially friendly, but no complaints either. All three flight attendants appeared to be quite young. One flight attendant appeared to be trying some kung fu in the aisle during the safety demo. No greeting at the door upon boarding, nor any expression of thanks upon deplaning.
Arrival/baggage: About 10 minutes early into SAN. My bag came off within 15 minutes of arriving at the gate (baggage is usually fairly fast at SAN).
Another good VX trip. I just hope they can get the satellite TV issues fixed, and improve the organization of the SFO check-in.
Check-in:
Arrived at the International Terminal at 6:00 for the 7:00 departure (traffic was very light). The VX ticket counter had long lines for both agent check-in/rebooking and the kiosk check-in, although there was no line for F check-in. The worst part: VX had those doing kiosk check-in and web bag drop queue up in the same line. This caused unnecessary delay for those of us who had checked in online and were simply trying to check bags, as most of the people in line were waiting for a kiosk to open so they could check-in. VX needs to follow the example of other airlines and have separate lines for web bag drop and kiosk check-in. Also, installing more check-in kiosks at SFO would also be a good idea as VX continues to expand. But, at least VX still offers one checked bag free of charge.
Boarding/Departure: The gate agents were convivial. Boarding began about 30 minutes prior to departure. The flight was only about 2/3 full, which perhaps explains why the agents simply boarded First Class, and then called for groups A through E to board all at once. We left the gate about five minutes early.
Aircraft: The cabin was clean, and the mood lighting was on. The black leather seats on the new A319s are nice---possibly a little softer and more comfortable than on the older A320s, even though the seat design is the same. The 32" pitch was adequate. I find that the TV is at an uncomfortably close viewing distance when the seat in front of me is fully reclined.
Red: Main problem today was that most of the satellite TV channels were not working throughout the entire flight. The four channels that did work seemed reliable. The program guide was also unavailable, and the "shop," "read," and web functionalities are still not availability. One improvement is that there were about 35 English language films for $5-$7 (new releases all seem to be $7), plus five feature-length foreign language movies, which I think is a new feature. There are also the foreign language TV shows. And, as before, there are still a number of short five-minute films, mostly made by students, which are free. I watched a couple of these short flicks during the 70 minute flight today, and then perused the excellent music selection.
Snacks/Drinks: Just the basic selection of granola bars, chips, snack mix, cookies, fruit leather were available for $1-2 per item. No meal options were listed. The price for beer/wine/liquor was $6, except for sparkling wine at $10. But, soft drinks continue to be complimentary. And, at least they offer real half and half, unlike WN.
Cabin crew: Pretty standard--not especially friendly, but no complaints either. All three flight attendants appeared to be quite young. One flight attendant appeared to be trying some kung fu in the aisle during the safety demo. No greeting at the door upon boarding, nor any expression of thanks upon deplaning.
Arrival/baggage: About 10 minutes early into SAN. My bag came off within 15 minutes of arriving at the gate (baggage is usually fairly fast at SAN).
Another good VX trip. I just hope they can get the satellite TV issues fixed, and improve the organization of the SFO check-in.
Last edited by EIPremier; Jul 30, 2008 at 9:24 am
Jul 13, 2008, 7:51 pm
#36
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Sydney - Australia
Programs: BD, QF, QR/EY/GF & HH Gold/SPG, Hertz#1G
Posts: 11,079
Jul 22, 2008, 1:16 am
#37
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Miami, FL, USA
Posts: 4,049
Just had my first "RED TOTALLY BROKEN" trip :-(
It was ship 633, which worked fine when I flew it yesterday! They kept trying to reboot it, and during the reboot time the first class seats wouldn't work! Finally it became completely powered off, and my seat was left in the fully reclined position. The poor ITL (inflight team lead) was not normally an ITL, and had a heck of a time moving everyone's seat manually before the plane touched down.
Also, had a lovely time meeting nermaljcat at the airport. Nice guy!
It was ship 633, which worked fine when I flew it yesterday! They kept trying to reboot it, and during the reboot time the first class seats wouldn't work! Finally it became completely powered off, and my seat was left in the fully reclined position. The poor ITL (inflight team lead) was not normally an ITL, and had a heck of a time moving everyone's seat manually before the plane touched down.
Also, had a lovely time meeting nermaljcat at the airport. Nice guy!
Jul 22, 2008, 10:54 am
#38
Join Date: Aug 2007
Programs: VX, UA 2P
Posts: 968
Just had my first "RED TOTALLY BROKEN" trip :-(
It was ship 633, which worked fine when I flew it yesterday! They kept trying to reboot it, and during the reboot time the first class seats wouldn't work! Finally it became completely powered off, and my seat was left in the fully reclined position. The poor ITL (inflight team lead) was not normally an ITL, and had a heck of a time moving everyone's seat manually before the plane touched down.
Also, had a lovely time meeting nermaljcat at the airport. Nice guy!
It was ship 633, which worked fine when I flew it yesterday! They kept trying to reboot it, and during the reboot time the first class seats wouldn't work! Finally it became completely powered off, and my seat was left in the fully reclined position. The poor ITL (inflight team lead) was not normally an ITL, and had a heck of a time moving everyone's seat manually before the plane touched down.
Also, had a lovely time meeting nermaljcat at the airport. Nice guy!
I'm glad we had a chance to meet up and have an interesting chat. You're a nice guy too!
Jul 25, 2008, 11:43 am
#40
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Truth or Consequences, NM
Programs: HH Diamond, Marriott Titanium, Hertz President's Circle, UA Silver, Mobile Passport Unobtanium
Posts: 6,195
Had the same thing happen on the same day (22 July). SEA-SFO, Red was "power off" which meant the F seats wouldn't work unless you manipulated them manually. For the second leg of the trip, SFO-SAN, Red was "power on" (and it was the same aircraft as the first leg.)
Everyone on the first flight got a "free drink" ticket - as someone who paid for F seats I thought we should have received better compensation than the passengers who purchased Y tix.
Everyone on the first flight got a "free drink" ticket - as someone who paid for F seats I thought we should have received better compensation than the passengers who purchased Y tix.
Jul 28, 2008, 6:31 pm
#41
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: San Francisco
Programs: United 2P, QMM, eleVAte
Posts: 231
I flew VX for the first time this weekend, SFO-LAS-SFO on 7/25 and 7/27. I drew the dark A319 on the return leg, and as I slept for most of that (short) flight, I don't have much to say about it.
As for the outbound leg:
1) The gate staff were, in my mind, annoying. They were very nice, but the "oldest penny" game reminds me of Valujet flight attendants announcing that we were all going to play "Charlie Brown trivia" in the middle of the flight. I realize that VX is trying to relieve the stress of air travel, but I can entertain myself at the gate just fine.
2) I was excited to test out RED during my flight, and it sort of worked. Many of the satellite TV channels weren't working and the mapping feature lagged horribly. I messed around with the games section, but wasn't too impressed with the selection. Seems like JetBlue might have them beat on the TV front...
3) Staff- The pilots were all great. They looked a little Star Wars-esque in their uniforms, but were consistently informative and pleasant. Gate staff were all competent and helpful (I flew standby on the return leg, and had no issues). However, I was not at all impressed with the flight attendants. Maybe it's that I fly United a lot and am used to jaded and curmodgeonly service, but the VX cabin crew were far too "cutesy" for my liking. Listening to the crew's conversations amongst themselves and with pax, it was pretty clear that some of them were complete and total idiots. One of them felt the need to prove how hip and cool she was by standing in the aisle and carrying on one of the ditziest conversations ever with the "too cool for school" blondes (they weren't bright lights either---we left from gate A12, and they spent about 5 minutes trying to figure out their seats when they boarded--"ohmygod, I'm in seat A12 too!") in my row about how drunk she got in Vegas when she turned 21 a few months ago. Making this conversation even less appropriate was that we were in our final descent into LAS with heavy chop. Watching her (and a few other crew members) operate, it became quite clear to me that she would be absolutely unreliable in any sort of emergency situation. I may not like the attitude of the UA crew sometimes, but they are at least competent in an emergency.
Anyways, the bottom line is that I'll place VX into rotation with Alaska and JetBlue for the rare occasions that I don't fly United, but they haven't done enough to convince me to have any sort of loyalty to them outside of pricing.
As for the outbound leg:
1) The gate staff were, in my mind, annoying. They were very nice, but the "oldest penny" game reminds me of Valujet flight attendants announcing that we were all going to play "Charlie Brown trivia" in the middle of the flight. I realize that VX is trying to relieve the stress of air travel, but I can entertain myself at the gate just fine.
2) I was excited to test out RED during my flight, and it sort of worked. Many of the satellite TV channels weren't working and the mapping feature lagged horribly. I messed around with the games section, but wasn't too impressed with the selection. Seems like JetBlue might have them beat on the TV front...
3) Staff- The pilots were all great. They looked a little Star Wars-esque in their uniforms, but were consistently informative and pleasant. Gate staff were all competent and helpful (I flew standby on the return leg, and had no issues). However, I was not at all impressed with the flight attendants. Maybe it's that I fly United a lot and am used to jaded and curmodgeonly service, but the VX cabin crew were far too "cutesy" for my liking. Listening to the crew's conversations amongst themselves and with pax, it was pretty clear that some of them were complete and total idiots. One of them felt the need to prove how hip and cool she was by standing in the aisle and carrying on one of the ditziest conversations ever with the "too cool for school" blondes (they weren't bright lights either---we left from gate A12, and they spent about 5 minutes trying to figure out their seats when they boarded--"ohmygod, I'm in seat A12 too!") in my row about how drunk she got in Vegas when she turned 21 a few months ago. Making this conversation even less appropriate was that we were in our final descent into LAS with heavy chop. Watching her (and a few other crew members) operate, it became quite clear to me that she would be absolutely unreliable in any sort of emergency situation. I may not like the attitude of the UA crew sometimes, but they are at least competent in an emergency.
Anyways, the bottom line is that I'll place VX into rotation with Alaska and JetBlue for the rare occasions that I don't fly United, but they haven't done enough to convince me to have any sort of loyalty to them outside of pricing.
Jul 28, 2008, 11:33 pm
#42
Join Date: Mar 2004
Posts: 139
Enjoyed SFO-LAS-SFO in first. All flights 100% full in coach, with one seat open in first on the way to LAS and all full on the way back.
Cabin staff was so-so half of this trip, unfortunately. Picked one couple to talk to on the way from SFO-LAS and neglected to refill drinks for anyone but them. On the way back things operated normally.
Glad VX provides a product that makes flying actually enjoyable again domestically.
Cabin staff was so-so half of this trip, unfortunately. Picked one couple to talk to on the way from SFO-LAS and neglected to refill drinks for anyone but them. On the way back things operated normally.
Glad VX provides a product that makes flying actually enjoyable again domestically.
Jul 29, 2008, 11:51 am
#43
Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: San Francisco Bay Area
Programs: AS MVP, Elevate, AAdvantage, Mileage Plus
Posts: 1,992
VX 1864, SFO-SAN, July 29 2008, ship 526 ("Jane").
Friendly check-in/gate agents, and no lines to speak of this time. Ontime flight.
My TV worked, but the TV in the seat next to mine wouldn't function at all (touchscreen didn't respond, didn't respond to remote either). It was just stuck on the "welcome to red" screen, and evidently this was the case with several other pax nearby as well.
Load very light...checked in 45 min in advance and got sequence #44. I'd guess plane was 40% full at most, and pretty much empty in F.
Chat function was unavailable, and TV reception was fine on certain channels (eg. CNN, CNBC) but other channels (eg. Cartoon Network) were either seriously lagging or unavailable.
New snack selection---pringles, snickers, almonds, choco chip cookies, apples slices, carrot slices, mango (dried i think), chex mix, fiber oat bar. Prices are up a little...now $2-$3.
The flight crew was great...possibly the best I've had on VX. Lots of smiles, very friendly and attentive, and the captain even came out of the cockpit for pre-flight announcements and thanked several times for flying with VX. Also, we had four flight attendants today, instead of the usual three. Not sure why...maybe one was training?
Seats in Y were fairly comfy, but compared to my trip up to SFO on Friday with WN, there was much less legroom on VX.
Friendly check-in/gate agents, and no lines to speak of this time. Ontime flight.
My TV worked, but the TV in the seat next to mine wouldn't function at all (touchscreen didn't respond, didn't respond to remote either). It was just stuck on the "welcome to red" screen, and evidently this was the case with several other pax nearby as well.
Load very light...checked in 45 min in advance and got sequence #44. I'd guess plane was 40% full at most, and pretty much empty in F.
Chat function was unavailable, and TV reception was fine on certain channels (eg. CNN, CNBC) but other channels (eg. Cartoon Network) were either seriously lagging or unavailable.
New snack selection---pringles, snickers, almonds, choco chip cookies, apples slices, carrot slices, mango (dried i think), chex mix, fiber oat bar. Prices are up a little...now $2-$3.
The flight crew was great...possibly the best I've had on VX. Lots of smiles, very friendly and attentive, and the captain even came out of the cockpit for pre-flight announcements and thanked several times for flying with VX. Also, we had four flight attendants today, instead of the usual three. Not sure why...maybe one was training?
Seats in Y were fairly comfy, but compared to my trip up to SFO on Friday with WN, there was much less legroom on VX.
Jul 29, 2008, 4:56 pm
#44
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Miami, FL, USA
Posts: 4,049
By the way, this is an FA setting. They disable the chat function if there are any complaints about people abusing it. However, it is a persistent setting, so unless they explicitly re-enable it, the flights to follow will still have it disabled. I think I'll add this to the FAQ.
Aug 11, 2008, 2:48 pm
#45
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Washington DC
Programs: Former 1k, Lifetime UA Gold, Starwood Gold; Avis Preferred; Hertz Gold
Posts: 1,732
Really enjoyed my trip IAD-SFO-IAD and the Virgin lounge in SFO. I usually take UA, but maybe not for long - at least on this route. My experience (and a larger thread) can be found here.
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showp...9&postcount=31
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showp...9&postcount=31