It's no $1 bus ride to San Francisco, but we decided Virgin America's recent $40 one-way fare between LAX and SFO was worth leaving the car at home.
Of course, that was sort of silly -- by the time we paid round trip fares for the two of us; transportation to and from LAX (including a cab to Union Station, and then the Flyaway); and a rental car to drive north of San Francisco (where we attended a wedding), it was much more expensive to fly.
But so what. Part of the fun of the trip was checking out the new, buzzed-about Virgin America service (and Blogger Toddler gets such a kick out of flying and spending time at the airport, it was probably one of the highlights of the entire week).
At just over an hour, the flight between LAX and SFO is not nearly long enough to play around with Virgin America's in-seat entertainment unit, dubbed "Red."
From the moment you check in (above), it's a treat. Flying in the main cabin, you still feel like you're getting above average service. Employees were quick to help us and answer any questions as we grabbed our tix and gave them our luggage.
And the gate itself (above) was nothing too special in LAX, but at SFO was located in the quite modern (and new) international terminal. Guess being based there had its privileges.
Once you make it inside the cabin, the first thing you notice is the mood lighting. The purple and pink glow isn't too overbearing during the day, but is rather odd when you're boarding early in the morning or late at night, when it's still dark outside.
And yes, Virgin America is trying its best to be hip. Maria and I cracked up at the safety folder, as the usual illustrations took on a rather hipster look. Check out Virgin America's representative passenger: Sideburns, trucker cap... and a seatbelt. See, hipsters can be safety concious!
Your safety... in the hands of an American Apparel t-shirt wearing passenger!
Once we settled in, Maria and I quickly started playing around with "Red." First off, the unique chat feature allows you to strike up a conversation with others anywhere on the plane (above). You can also enter chat rooms and discuss current events, sports, etc. with anyone on the plane.
For entertainment, it's satellite TV from Dish -- but like the DirecTV offerings on JetBlue, the selection is spotty (and frequently goes out when the plane goes out of satellite range). Much more reliable is the catalog of music videos (including recent clips from Amy Winehouse, Lily Allen, Foo Fighters and more) branded by VH1.
Movies are $8 -- pointless on the flight to San Francisco -- but the plane also offers a free selection of 5-minute-long student films (a few were decent, but most were pretty bad). Entertainment options also included plenty of audio options for the kids (music selections from Dora the Explorer, Sesame Street, and more) but sadly, no video clips, which would have made Evan more happy, as Disney Channel, the one satellite TV option for kids, was blacked out on our flights.
System also included several games, and an option where you could order your drinks from your seat.
One more disappointment: Snacks -- which came from Target's Archer Farms label -- were not free. (A sad contrast to JetBlue, which not only offers up free chips/crackers/cookies, but they're gourmet choices!) We brought enough goodies on board, and the flight was short enough, that it didn't matter -- but given all the other perks, it seemed like a strange feature to suddenly skimp.
The seats were black leather and comfy enough -- but strangely, for a new plane, the guy sitting in front of Blogger Toddler on the ride home had one of those airplane chairs (you've either seen 'em or even ridden in one in the past) that keeps floating back no matter how many times you try to return it to the upright position (inevitably leading to the scolding you get from the flight attendant when the plane is about to land and your seat is still reclined).
Over all, I'm glad we tried Virgin America, and I'd gladly try it again, in order to play more with the entertainment system. It sure beat the usual tedious drive up the 5 (always a drag, particularly when you pass by that freeway-side slaughter house up north). But I'd still bring on board a portable DVD player for the kid.
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