First VX flight - Unimpressed
 

Took my first VA flight last evening. LAS-SFO-IAD. I was very excited - but to be honest, I was not impressed. Flight crew was great and both fights left and arrived on-time. This is a huge upgrade from my general experience with UA. However, on both flights the IFE didn't work well. On the SFO-IAD flight, the big hyped wireless didn't work at all. However, I see on my AMEX bill today that I was charged the $12.95. The seats were not the greatest, the guy behind me was pecking the seat monitor the whole flight and the cut outs in the arm rest were uncomfortable. I'd probably fly VA again, but only if the fare was competitive. Did I just have bad luck?

You had back luck as far as IFE/Internet went. I'd call VX and see if you can get a refund for the AMEX charge, also mention the IFE as they often give out vouchers if it doesn't work (2 for 2? that is pretty bad).

The seat pitch in economy is not as good as others (especially compared to E+ on UA). First class is much nicer (and pretty cheap if you can get a 24 hour upgrade). IMO - the staff attitude/airline style alone makes it a huge upgrade from legacy carriers.

IFE has always worked for me, but it has often seemed like it was on the verge of crashing. As noted above, the $250 F upgrade is an amazing transcon deal, if available. I've gotten it on 3/4 of my SFO-IAD segments.

Thanks for the suggestion.

Update
 

Without even making a request, GoGo (VX Wireless Internet provider) refunded my 12.95 and provided me a certificate for free access on my next flight. Nice to see them proactive. ^

It took me one month, several phone calls and emails and a credit card charge dispute to get my refund from GoGo!

I'll assume you made them "see the light" so they are on top of these issues. I guess I owe you a thank you.

I had to laugh when I read this, as it is completely consistent with the experience I had when I switched from UA to NW. NW has numerous problems, but I was thrilled just to have an airline that didn't cancel or delay my flights on most of my trips!