This classic Eastern Air Lines commercial from the 1960’s (guessing around 1964, since that is when the 727-100 entered service) highlights the Boeing 727 entering service with the airline. They tout it as “being as quiet as a library.” Hmm… I am not sure what library they are hanging out in, but those Boeing 727-100’s without hush kits are not known for their silence. Well, at the time, they were quieter than other jets, but as much as a library? Haaardly.
Virgin America, Breanna Jewel, sits at LAX after arriving.
VIRGIN AMERICA FIRST CLASS REVIEW BASICS:
Airline: Virgin America
Aircraft: Airbus A320 (named Breanna Jewel)
Departed: Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA)
Arrived: Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)
Stops: None
Class: First Class
Seat: 1A
Length: 2.75hrs
Cheers: Best domestic first class product, hands down.
Jeers: Please wash your windows.
Bottom Line: You get what you pay for and you shouldn’t feel bad paying for this.
Virgin America’s first class seats are spacious and colorful.
FULL VIRGIN AMERICA FIRST CLASS REVIEW
It has been a while since I have done a review on Virgin America and when I recently flew from SEA to LAX for #Dorkfest, I decided it was time for another review. I have flown Virgin America quite a few times, but always at the back of the (air) bus. I was hoping to review their premium product; First Class and luckily I made it work out. (Note: I paid for an economy ticket and was upgraded one-way by the airline to do the review).
Having a premium ticket gave me access to use the TSA priority line at SEA. My flight was leaving at 7:10am on a Saturday, so the priority line only saved me about a minute.
After getting through security with a first class ticket, do not expect lounge access. There is no lounge for Virgin America passengers in Seattle and lounges in New York, San Fransisco and Washington DC will cost you from $35-$75 to enter, even with a full fare first class ticket.
Have to love the Starbucks coffee sitting on the tray table in the Virgin America flight deck.
I was running a bit late and missed the first class priority boarding period. When doing a review, I prefer to board as soon as possible (or get pre-boarding access), but luckily the front cabin was still empty when I entered the A320.
It never gets old boarding a Virgin America flight. Where most other airlines welcome you with white lighting (snoozers), Virgin America gives you a pink and purple feast for the eyes.
Hunting down my seat, 1A, was not too difficult. After taking some photos and settling down I watched as the front flight attendant, Justin, was interacting with the kids boarding the plane. One was dressed as a superhero (seriously rad) and he was invited into the flight deck, but wasn’t having it (even super heroes have bad days I guess).
Every other child that boarded was given a similar invite, which most agreed. Well heck… I finally asked if adult-kids can go see the flight deck as well and I was more than welcome to do so. I have found that Virgin America is pretty welcoming to pre-taxi flight deck visits, which many other airlines are reluctant or just do not allow it.
After the kid in me got to check out the front of the plane, I was back to enjoying my pre-flight drink (coffee) and see what my seat has to offer.
If you love purple, you will love Virgin America first class. I had to take pretty photos inside the cabin, since taking photos of the outside weren’t happening.
The safety video, which features Richard Branson’s voice, has been playing for a while now, but I haven’t quite gotten sick of it yet. However, I wasn’t able to watch it on this leg of the flight. Those in first class can hear the video, but a flight attendant shows the safety features, since the TVs remain in the armrest.
My biggest problem with the entire flight were the windows being filthy. Not a huge deal for your average traveler, but one that needs (okay, maybe wants, but it feels like a need most times) to take photos out the window. The pain became much worse when our flight flew right by Mount Rainier and out of about 30 photos taken, none of them turned out remotely decent. At least there were great things to distract me inside the aircraft.
No matter what cabin you fly in, passengers get access to free satellite TV, games, ability to order food from the screen and some of the other things that make RED awesome. The bonus of being up front is all the on-demand tv and movies are included in the price of the ticket.
Probably the best banana bread I have had. How did they keep it so moist?
Talking about free; you also get free drinks and food. And we aren’t talking about a meal in a box food here, we are talking real food — the best I have had domestically.
For breakfast, I decided on the steel-cut oats (not sure what that means) and American breakfast: “Chilled steel-cuts oats tossed with oranges, apples, maple, walnuts, dried cranberries cherries, currants, and creamy yogurt, topped with multigrain granola, raspberries, and blackberries. Served along cage-free scrambled eggs finished with chives and cream cheese, accompanied by cheddar hash browns, apple and chicken sausage, roasted tomato, grilled green onion and mini French toast filled with vanilla and orange cream.” Dang, that is impressive — remember this is on a flight from Seattle to Los Angeles.
They even had Glenlivet 12 year old scotch, which is rare to even find on an international business class flight. Only if it was later in the day, I would have enjoyed it, but some OJ and coffee sufficed.
It is hard to remember this is a domestic product. Sure, the seats do not fold flat, but they get quite comfy.
If you want to guarantee a seat up in the front, make sure you purchase your first class ticket well in advance. If you are willing to take the risk, you have the ability to grab an upgrade for pretty cheap.
Elevate Gold Members are eligible to purchase First Class upgrades for themselves and a travel companion from 24 hours before departure. Elevate Silver Members are eligible to purchase First Class upgrades for themselves and a travel companion from 12 hours before departure. All other Elevate Members and other guests are able to purchase upgrades to First Class from 6 hours before departure. For a short-haul flight (like SEA-LAX) you can get a economy to first class upgrade for $79 each way. That goes up to $139 for medium haul and all the way up to $299 for long haul.
I have had no problem stating that I feel Virgin America has the best domestic economy product and I am happy to say the same about their First Class product. I am not one that has a ton of money to throw around, but I would feel okay spending the extra money for this product.
ADDITIONAL VIRGIN AMERICA FIRST CLASS PHOTOS:
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China Southern’s first Boeing 787 Dreamliner to be delivered readies for take off at Paine Field. Photo by Malcolm Muir.
A China Southern Airlines Boeing 787 Dreamliner in special livery took its first flight yesterday at Paine Field and AirlineReporter.com correspondent Malcolm Muir was there to catch it in action. One of the first chilly and windy days in Seattle made it a bit more difficult, but you have to be ready for unfriendly weather if you plan spot in Everett.
China Southern’s 787 taxis at Paine Field. Photo by Malcolm Muir.
For some reason, the airline still has not been publicly talked about the livery and is almost seeming to try to keep it a secret. This is unfortunate, since many spotters have already caught the impressive new design. It is currently rumored that nine out of the ten China Southern 787s will sport this special livery.
“The livery stands out really well against the other aircraft and definitely an improvement over standard china southern livery,” Muir explained. I have to agree. I have been able to see this livery up close on the flight line and it is more breath taking in person than the photos can show.
Spotting a 787 at Paine Field would not be complete without a head-on shot. Photo by Malcolm Muir.
China Southern’s standard livery is not too shabby looking, but quite a bit more conservative than this special 787 design.
The Dreamliner, B-2727, took off a bit after noon on Friday and according to FlightAware.com, flew for about an hour and 40 minutes over Washington state before returning to Everett.
And lift off. China Southern’s 787 is about to go on a 1hr 40min flight and return back to Paine Field. Photo by Malcolm Muir.
China Southern was originally scheduled to take delivery of their first 787 by the end of September, but that obviously has not happened yet.
The airline is the third to offer a special livery of their 787 Dreamliner after ANA and United.
Computer mock up of what Alaska Airline’s Boeing 737 MAX will look like. Check out those winglets. Image from Boeing.
Alaska Airlines has confirmed an order for 50 new Boeing 737s, worth more than $5billion, at list prices. The order was for 20 737 MAX 8s, 17 MAX 9s and 13 737-900ER.
’œThis order positions us for growth and ensures that we’ll continue to operate the quietest and most fuel-efficient aircraft available for the foreseeable future. That means our customers will continue to enjoy a comfortable in-flight experience, low fares and excellent on-time performance,’ Alaska Airlines President and CEO Brad Tilden said. ’œWe value our longstanding relationship with Boeing and look forward to painting ’˜Proudly All Boeing’ on the nose of our aircraft for many, many years into the future.’
The aircraft are slated to begin deliveries in 2015, with the first 737 MAX 8 expected to enter service in 2018, with the MAX 9 joining in 2019.
This historical order was announced yesterday at Alaska’s yearly meeting. Alaska posted a video showing the announcement, which also highlights the new Boeing Sky Interior (seen below).
Although the announcement is huge, it is not a huge surprise that Alaska would continue with their strong relationship with Boeing and look to replace their fleet of older Boeing 737-400s.
Kind of a cool looking livery, especially done by a child younger than 12. Image from ANA.
A while back, All Nippon Airways (ANA) announced a contest for people to design a special livery to help celebrate their 60th anniversary. Oddly, my entry did not make the final cut.
ANA received over 7000 submissions from 36 countries and has opened voting on their special website. You have until October 21st to vote and the winning design will be announced on December 1st.
There are some pretty slick looking entries. If you cannot decide on your favorite, no worry, you can vote for more than one.
The winner will have tickets to Japan to see their livery in-person. Which is your favorite?
THE OTHER ANA LIVERY CONTEST FINALISTS:
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