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Post 4 on this thread http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=802971 is a report I did inagural SEA-SFO, see VX HQ, SFO-SEA.
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Here is my trip report for SFO->NYC last Thanksgiving:
http://flyertalk.com/forum/showpost....4&postcount=14
Originally Posted by prismwiz
(Post 9509132)
Post 4 on this thread http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=802971 is a report I did inagural SEA-SFO, see VX HQ, SFO-SEA.
This one should link to your report: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showp...83&postcount=4 |
Originally Posted by nermaljcat
(Post 9509235)
Here is my trip report for SFO->NYC last Thanksgiving:
http://flyertalk.com/forum/showpost....4&postcount=14 There is a little number at the top-right corner of your post which should link to it (it took me a little while to notice it) ;) This one should link to your report: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showp...83&postcount=4 |
Originally Posted by aviators99
(Post 9509343)
That thread has more than one trip report, so it would be better to link the whole thread in this case.
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Originally Posted by prismwiz
(Post 9509132)
Post 4 on this thread http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=802971 is a report I did inagural SEA-SFO, see VX HQ, SFO-SEA.
Originally Posted by nermaljcat
(Post 9509235)
Here is my trip report for SFO->NYC last Thanksgiving:
http://flyertalk.com/forum/showpost....4&postcount=14 Adding it now. This one should link to your report: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showp...83&postcount=4
Originally Posted by aviators99
(Post 9509343)
That thread has more than one trip report, so it would be better to link the whole thread in this case.
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Originally Posted by nermaljcat
(Post 9509235)
There is a little number at the top-right corner of your post which should link to it (it took me a little while to notice it) ;)
This one should link to your report: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showp...83&postcount=4 |
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Originally Posted by BiziBB
(Post 9505362)
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Originally Posted by aviators99
(Post 9511175)
This one goes under SFO-LAX
Originally Posted by aviators99
(Post 9511193)
Hey, my picture is in that photo gallery...
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Just wrote this http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?p=9544685 SEA-LAX-SFO-SEA.
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Thank you to our SEA flyers prismwiz and eponymous_coward for your reports, which now sit atop the SEA Trip Reports index.
What a great impression you've made, VX, on these FTers for these flights. Let's hope the standard can be kept up. :) |
Mini trip report: LAS-SFO-SEA
LAS-SFO was in coach (I only did the day-of-flight upgrade for the SFO-SEA leg), not much to report except the plane was full, and I slept on the plane in coach, which almost NEVER happens... but it had been a long night without much sleep. VX's coach is pretty darn comfortable- as a comparison, I flew standby coach to LAS from SEA on AS, giving up my complimentary upgrade to F to get to Vegas earlier, in a less comfortable seat: 32" pitch, 17" width on a 737-400 compared to 32"/19.7" in coach for VX... BIG difference, as I am sort of wide at the shoulders. SFO-SEA: also not too much to report, but I flew the same plane up to SEA (different crew), but I was in F and enjoyed a great meal and very good attendant service. This flight was ALMOST full. Several AS regulars like myself were also in F on VX for their first time, and also were blew away by it the same way I was my first time. |
Originally Posted by eponymous_coward
(Post 9647243)
Mini trip report: LAS-SFO-SEA
LAS-SFO was in coach (I only did the day-of-flight upgrade for the SFO-SEA leg), not much to report except the plane was full, and I slept on the plane in coach, which almost NEVER happens... but it had been a long night without much sleep. VX's coach is pretty darn comfortable- as a comparison, I flew standby coach to LAS from SEA on AS, giving up my complimentary upgrade to F to get to Vegas earlier, in a less comfortable seat: 32" pitch, 17" width on a 737-400 compared to 32"/19.7" in coach for VX... BIG difference, as I am sort of wide at the shoulders. |
Originally Posted by sltlyamusd
(Post 9647797)
The 19.7" seat width on the A320 is measured armrest to armrest (a convenient marketing ploy by VX), whereas 17" on the 737 excludes the armrests. The A320 Y seat is only about three quarters of an inch wider compared to the 737.
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OK, SEA-LAX and LAX-SEA. With Bullet Points!
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Deleted since the post below links to the full trip report.
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In Trip Reports, there is:
NY, NY in Y (on VX) (May 29, thanks EIPremier) A round trip freebie return ticket. ^ |
This is a Lounge Report...
On 1 June, as a VX pax at SFO, I bought a pass to the VS Clubhouse. The price was expensive but when I got to the Clubhouse, all I can say is WOW! All the drinks you want are included. I was the only pax in the Clubhouse. If you arrive before 3:30 pm, which I should have but didn't, you can order meals. Yes, unlike other U.S. airline lounges, there are meals at the VS Clubhouse. And the meals are included in your Clubhouse pass as the same as all VS UC pax ordering the same meals. The Clubhouse staff were also aware of my flight time as they would come over to gently advise me that I had 15 minutes before boarding my VX flight. I knew that another VX flight from SFO-SEA left earlier. If I were on that flight, I would have bought a pass to the VS Clubhouse and ordered a meal and drinks. I noticed that other posts were noting that AS should be worried. Given the service quality that I had at the VS Clubhouse this past Sunday, and a decent flight on VX in addition to that, I will agree. If I were AS, I would be very worried... The VX pass to the VS Clubhouse in SFO is impressive! |
Originally Posted by tonywestsider
(Post 9817834)
I was the only pax in the Clubhouse.
... If I were AS, I would be very worried... |
To clarify your quote of my post, I was writing about the quality of the Clubhouse together with the overall service quality in Y of VX and not popularity of the Clubhouse and that AS should be worried. "I was the only pax in the Clubhouse" is a separate issue. Entrance into the VS Clubhouse is still highly restricted if you are a VS pax, however, you can buy a pass if you are a VX pax, regardless of class of service. Note that I got to the VS Clubhouse AFTER VS FC passengers boarded their flight to LHR. Secondly, a VX flight to SEA had already departed. So therefore, the VS Clubhouse emptied out when I got there, FYI. |
VX Trip Report
Not quite sure what the format for trip reports is, so I apologize in advance for any errors. Much of this isn't the trip, as the total VX experience.
I typically fly United out of IAD, but this time did a multi-segment trip: IAD-SFO, SFO-LAX, LAX-IAD. - I booked travel via corporate travel, then went to the VX website to sign up for Elevate. When I signed up, I used my first initial, but my travel booked as my first name. Because of this "first name" discrepancy I could never synch my Elevate number w/my travel, until I called a representative who had to edit my first name in the Elevate database. - I was never able to get seat assignment to work online. I had to call VX to get that. I was able to print out my first two boarding passes online, however. - At the gate, I was able to move from a forward window to an exit middle, w/out charge. However the ticket printer at the gate wasn't working (the gate attendants kept asking me to check back to see if it was), so I never got a new boarding pass (ok with me, but they seemed a bit bothered by that). They let me on the flight with my original boarding pass, however. - Seatguru has row 9 B-D as reclining, but I discovered that they did not. However, at 6'1" I prefer the extra legroom, even from the middle seat. Our takeoff was delayed about 75 min (weather issue) and I found the seats seemed to lean a bit forward while the plane was on the ground, which was a bit uncomfortable. Once we were airborne it was OK. - On the first leg, flight 462 on 6/8, the Red system wasn't working after takeoff. I hadn't eaten, as I had heard about the meal ordering system, so I got pretty hungry. The flight crew rebooted the system 4 times (not sure why they thought the 3rd and 4th reboot would work, when the 1st and 2nd boot didn't). One could see the Linux kernel and processes load, and see one of the errant processes fail to load, but I didn't really expect the flight crew to know/catch this. This flight was almost completely full, fwiw. - I was able to sweet talk one of the FAs out of a G&T on the first pass through, but she gave me a cup of tonic and a bottle of gin. Not sure how she expected me to drink this (there are bars in DC that do the opposite, give you a glass of gin and a bottle of tonic:) ). After I had finished my first drink I asked a second FA for more tonic, cup and ice (I had mistakenly given up my cup), and she hurriedly threw me a can of tonic. Only later did I get the cup and ice (with another gin). - There were rumors in the cabin about how to get a meal out of one of the FAs (and even if they had enough meals). I went to the back and (politely) asked for one, to be told that because of my seat (9B) I needed to get mine for the 1st class FA. Eventually he moved down the aisle distributing meals, but he was never clear if these were free or not. My (ESL) seatmate decided against a meal, because of the payment confusion. I got the "antipasto salad " which was really some nice (not brown) romaine with folded slices of lunch meat on top, so OK but not great. I didn't pay for it or the 2 G&Ts, however. - I brought my laptop w/movies and my ipod so Red not working wasn't a problem for me. However I did appreciate the coach power plugs, although they are a bit awkward to attach to. - At the end of the flight the chief FA said on the intercom that, because Red wasn't working, everyone in coach would get a $25 credit and FC would get a $50 credit. A friend of mine was in FC and they did get food/drink. - I was able to use FC toilet (twice!). - Second leg was flight 1839 on 6/9. No problems there, but some of the SFO trains have VX listed in Intl Terminal A and other have it in Intl Terminal G (my flights arrived/departed from Intl Terminal A). Red was working and I was able to order a drink through that (had to finally test it out!). - Didn't try to use FC toilet. - Third leg was supposed to be flight 616 on 6/11. However I could never see that 3rd leg on the VX website, although there was a link to it when I signed in under my (now synched) Elevate number. So I had to call VX again, and discovered that I had mistakingly booked it on 6/10 (oopsie!). Although VX had raised their rebooking fee to $75, they honored the $40 rebooking fee that was in place when I originally booked the tickets. - I again booked exit middle and had to pay for it ($50, as it was "premium" and "long haul"). However my $25 "credit" wasn't available, so I couldn't apply it to the $50 seat assignment. Bummer. - I was still unable to see this leg on the VX website, so had to print the boarding pass at LAX. While doing that I asked the gate attendant (is that the right term, if they're before security?) for other seat options. She said that a closer, aisle was available. I asked if I would get my $50 charge back, and she said that no, it would show up as a credit on my account, as VX has a policy of not returning money (this might not be an exact quote). I was flabbergasted, but decided to stay in row 10 rather then let VX keep my money and not provide any service for it (I considered taking the forward seat and disputing the CC charge). - The flight switched gates (LAX 67B) but apparently I missed the announcement. How about a sign, people? This was certainly a stealth boarding process. - The flight was only about 1/4 full, and the FAs were encouraging people to move around. The person in 3C had moved back (there was a crying baby in row 4) so the FA offered it to me. - Red was (allegedly) working on this, and I was able to order food and drink. But the free beverages are just a cup-full (I'm a "want the whole can" kind of guy). Also, my "credit" didn't seem to matter in food ordering either. - I found the music on Red to be "stuttering", sometimes so bad that it was unlistenable. No credits, however. Other Red thoughts: - I was disappointed that you couldn't save/retrieve playlists, as I had to create another one when I changed seats. Wouldn't it be cool if you could create playlists online and have them available at your seat? - I'd also like to be able to share playlists, and see what the most popular songs played are. - The chat was cumbersome, as there's a lot of setup involved, and you need to know someone else's seat number. I didn't play with it enough to see if there is a "plane-wide" chat room, but if it was there it wasn't obvious. - I was exited to see Doom in the games, but the controller isn't well suited for that game (I use keyboard/mouse for FPS games at home). Other VX comments: - Everyone working at VX was very polite (and happy) almost all the time. - The FAs seemed very young, as if this was the first job for many of them. On my first flight, they were especially clueless as to what to do when Red went down. On my last leg there was a more mature FA (said she had Horizon experience). - The phone people were great. Quick pick up (just say "agent"!), knew their stuff, made it happen fast, etc. Don't know what VX does to get customer service reps like that, but they should pay them enough to keep them around. - All the seats seemed narrow to me (I'm 6'1 and 200 lbs). And the armrests! They have a slot in the middle for the Red controller access, and it makes them very uncomfortable if they need to be shared. - The seat pockets seem pretty small to me as well. But maybe I travel w/too much stuff. Here's what I put in them: Bose headphones in case, bottle of water, magazine, sometimes trade paperback book. - Red seems to be very buggy. And annoying. For example, I pause a song, but still have my headphones on. The FA makes an announcement (which is sent through Red also). When she's done, the song unpauses. Who programmed that? - High proportion of travelers seemed to be tourists, as opposed to worker bees. However the overheads never got completely full, there was always room up there. Bottom line: Overall a neutral experience. An interesting airline that I wouldn't avoid, but neither would I specifically seek out. I do like having non-stop cross country options, however. And I encourage everyone of you to fly it IAD-SFO so that United will bring their ticket prices down on that flight! :):) Hope this isn't too long, or too redundant with other posts. |
Good report. A couple of comments:
Originally Posted by mpcrider
(Post 9863688)
No problems there, but some of the SFO trains have VX listed in Intl Terminal A and other have it in Intl Terminal G (my flights arrived/departed from Intl Terminal A).
I asked if I would get my $50 charge back, and she said that no, it would show up as a credit on my account, as VX has a policy of not returning money (this might not be an exact quote). I was flabbergasted, but decided to stay in row 10 rather then let VX keep my money and not provide any service for it (I considered taking the forward seat and disputing the CC charge). Other Red thoughts: - I was disappointed that you couldn't save/retrieve playlists, as I had to create another one when I changed seats. Wouldn't it be cool if you could create playlists online and have them available at your seat? - The chat was cumbersome, as there's a lot of setup involved, and you need to know someone else's seat number. I didn't play with it enough to see if there is a "plane-wide" chat room, but if it was there it wasn't obvious. - The seat pockets seem pretty small to me as well. But maybe I travel w/too much stuff. Here's what I put in them: Bose headphones in case, bottle of water, magazine, sometimes trade paperback book. - Red seems to be very buggy. And annoying. For example, I pause a song, but still have my headphones on. The FA makes an announcement (which is sent through Red also). When she's done, the song unpauses. Who programmed that? |
Originally Posted by aviators99
(Post 9863878)
Good report. A couple of comments:
Are you sure about this? I imagine I've been on all of the trains and they've all said "A" (all of the VX flights are from A).
Originally Posted by aviators99
(Post 9863878)
You may be confused about this. They give you a credit that's tied to your eleVAte account, and you can apply this to any future charge you would normally make with the ticketing agent (that's what they're called). This includes tickets, club room access, standby upgrades, premium seat upgrades, etc. I've had a couple of thousand dollars in these and have used them without a problem. If you're talking about actually "cashing" them out, you're correct, and you can't do that (same as B6 and others).
- I got a seat assignement in row 10 on Mon, via the phone, and paid $50 from my cc. - On Tue, at the ticket counter, I was told that an aisle seat, non-premium, and closer to the front was available. Before I accepted this new seat, I asked if I could get my $50 back (paid for the seat upgrade <24 hrs before, wasn't going to use it). I was basically told (not an exact quote), "Once Virgin America gets any money from you, we only give it back as a credit, not a refund". But said politely. :) That just seems wrong to me. I was "turning in" a service, e.g. releasing the seat, but they weren't "turning back" my money. I can understand not refunding the $25 "Sorry Red was broken" money, but this was my money, and they were free to resell the service (seat upgrade) to someone else. Not the biggest deal, but a bad policy, imho. Speaking of which, I likewise don't understand the "no cash" policy, especially when Red is broken. I look at my money and it says "good for all debts, public and private", and I think that should trump VX's policy (as I said, especially when their payment systems is broken). That said, I'm not a lawyer, and neither were any of the FAs on that flight (I don't believe). Regards. |
Originally Posted by mpcrider
(Post 9864289)
Pretty sure. I saw this on the train going from the terminal to the rental car stop and was surprised as I had gotten off the VX flight and had not yet got to the terminal stop listed. But as it was around 1pm ET I can't be sure. :)
I think either I wrote this out wrong or you misunderstood me. Here's what happened: - I got a seat assignement in row 10 on Mon, via the phone, and paid $50 from my cc. - On Tue, at the ticket counter, I was told that an aisle seat, non-premium, and closer to the front was available. Before I accepted this new seat, I asked if I could get my $50 back (paid for the seat upgrade <24 hrs before, wasn't going to use it). I was basically told (not an exact quote), "Once Virgin America gets any money from you, we only give it back as a credit, not a refund". But said politely. :) That just seems wrong to me. I was "turning in" a service, e.g. releasing the seat, but they weren't "turning back" my money. I can understand not refunding the $25 "Sorry Red was broken" money, but this was my money, and they were free to resell the service (seat upgrade) to someone else. Not the biggest deal, but a bad policy, imho. Speaking of which, I likewise don't understand the "no cash" policy, especially when Red is broken. I look at my money and it says "good for all debts, public and private", and I think that should trump VX's policy (as I said, especially when their payment systems is broken). That said, I'm not a lawyer, and neither were any of the FAs on that flight (I don't believe). Regards. |
Originally Posted by mpcrider
(Post 9863688)
- Red seems to be very buggy. And annoying. For example, I pause a song, but still have my headphones on. The FA makes an announcement (which is sent through Red also). When she's done, the song unpauses. Who programmed that?
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It's a bug because Red isn't telling the "user paused song, so wait for the user to hit play again" scenario apart from the "FA paused song for announcement, start playing when announcement is done" scenario, and is automagically starting the song again for BOTH scenarios after the FA announcement. Red should be waiting for the user to hit play again in the first scenario.
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Originally Posted by eponymous_coward
(Post 9869657)
It's a bug because Red isn't telling the "user paused song, so wait for the user to hit play again" scenario apart from the "FA paused song for announcement, start playing when announcement is done" scenario, and is automagically starting the song again for BOTH scenarios after the FA announcement. Red should be waiting for the user to hit play again in the first scenario.
Red gets a pause event from the user (state: paused) Red gets a pause event from the PA (state: paused) Red gets an unpause event from the PA (state: unpaused) A very simple solution would be to store the current pause state before the PA announcement and then restore it after. It should have been picked up and fixed during testing (I guess that is what you have a 'beta' phase for). Red gets a pause event from the user (state: paused) Red gets a pause event from the PA (state: paused, previous state: paused) Red gets an unpause event from the PA (state: <previous state> [paused]) or: Red is playing (state: unpaused) Red gets a pause event from the PA (state: paused, previous state: unpaused) Red gets an unpause event from the PA (state: <previous state> [unpaused]) |
Originally Posted by sltlyamusd
(Post 9864694)
How is that a bug? :confused:
I think either (1) after a FA announcement, Red goes back to default (play); or (2) in order to push through the FA announcement, Red needs to be in a "play" mode, and after the announcement it switches back to music, but in "play" mode. When Red switches from music, to FA announcement, then back to music, it should remember my last selection (pause). Likewise it shouldn't move to a random or default piece of music (it's not doing that, but I'm saying that to illustrate the bug). :) |
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. |
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. |
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.
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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 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. |
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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! |
Originally Posted by aviators99
(Post 10076887)
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! I'm glad we had a chance to meet up and have an interesting chat. You're a nice guy too! :D |
Well, VX is from Silicon Valley, where everything gets released on the Internet as "beta"... :p
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Originally Posted by aviators99
(Post 10076887)
Just had my first "RED TOTALLY BROKEN" trip :-(
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. |
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