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Amidst the star-studded hoopla of Virgin America’s inaugural flights yesterday — red carpets, free-flowing Champagne (tinted red with cranberry, of course), DJs, supermodels, cheerleaders — I had to ask myself one question: is the Virgin brand really this sexy or is it just a puff of ‘roid-pumped marketing? I walked the red carpet, boarded a brand-new plane named California Dreaming, and soaked in lilac mood lighting before being told we were delayed. Our flight from Los Angeles was to simultaneously land on parallel runways in San Francisco with the other first flight, from New York. But when a tornado hits Brooklyn, there’s not much you can do.
This gave us time to play with the much-hyped in-flight entertainment system, code-named Red — you know, like Virgin’s branding color. On offer: satellite TV ala Jet Blue, premium TV (no commercials, thank you) for $1.99, and 25 pay-per-view movies for $8. And since this airline is cashless you have a remote-control set into your arm rest to swipe your credit card. It even works when you’re hungry. Just push a button and order food or drink and a flight attendant will appear with your selection. You can watch music videos or track your flight on Google Maps or even text message your fellow passengers (gentlemen, start your engines; ladies, start your harassment complaints). And what Red doesn’t do, you can do with your laptop, thanks to power in every black leather seat. Unless you go one better, and score a white leather massage chair in first class.
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