Traveling from the East to the West Coast in the US seems like going to another country – long flight and a different time zone! But having taken Virgin America to fly to the west coast was indeed a fascinating experience. We had heard good reviews about the airline and considering the other competitors are not even worth mentioning, this one did stand out from the lot. Of course, I did have a bad experience with my luggage earlier on with this airline so wasn't sure but the deal was worth considering.
The moment you enter the aircraft, what strikes you is the cool lighting – blue/pink/purple - and hip-hop music playing in the background. It almost feels like entering a lounge. The crew members are most friendly and not to forget, the sense of humor they carry with them.
The airline seems technologically advanced compared to the other airlines. Each seat has a power-plug in for electronic devices. Since there was no WIFI, it wasn’t much use but I can imagine this facility to be utilized by lots of business travelers. There are personal screens that provide decent entertainment including regular TV news updates. One can even chat from one seat to the other. Like all other airlines, Virgin too does not provide in-flight meals and this means one has to buy them in the aircraft. So an interesting feature is how you can actually order from your seat screen and your meal gets served to you asap! For instance, you navigate into the food section, select from a list of options, add to the shopping cart, swipe the credit card and voila, you have your order delivered on your seat! I personally thought this was the coolest feature to have in the airline and soon perceive other airlines following suit. So overall, the journey was pretty decent - oh but we did have an episode with our luggage (again) and hopefully, we should have it delivered soon.
