I flew on Virgin America for the first time and I wish I had started flying it years before it disappears from the skies (ALK)
Ted S. Warren/AP
I recently flew Virgin America cross-country to head out for 2017's D23 Expo — think Comic-Con, but for all things Disney.
It was my first time flying the airline and I'm majorly bummed I didn't start flying the red and white sooner. Friends and coworkers have been raving about Virgin for years. When I was able to find a reasonably-priced round-trip flight, I figured I'd finally see what all of the fuss was about. Man, was I missing out.
Video games, outlets at every seat, and the ability to order from my seat? Truly I had been living under a rock because I was unaware of all the benefits and features of flying on Virgin America.
If I could fly them cross-country all the time I would. Unfortunately, my first time was possibly one of the few times I'll ever fly Virgin America. The airline was acquired by Alaska December 2016 and it will slowly be phasing out the Virgin brand by 2019. If you've never flown Virgin America and are considering whether or not you should take the plunge and spend a few extra dollars, it's definitely worth it, especially if you're flying 5+ hours in an extremely crowded space.
There were a few features and benefits I was completely unaware of before flying Virgin America and they'll be sorely missed.
I knew from the moment I arrived at JFK this would be a different experience.
I had an early 7 a.m. flight in mid-July so I made sure to get to the airport extra early. I saw the changes in airlines immediately when I headed to check a bag. Unlike other carriers where it's usually a drop and go sort of deal, Virgin was playing music — at 5:30 a.m. in the morning! And it wasn't just jazz or elevator music. We're talking Top 40 radio. They wanted to get you prepped for a party.
Airport experiences can be stressful, but this helped make the start of the day. It definitely put me in a better mood before I went to stand in a slow-moving security line that wrapped around terminal four.
The boarding pass made me feel like I was part of an exclusive club.
This sounds like a silly thing to get tickled by, but I nerded out a bit when I was handed my boarding pass. It was red! It had some weight to it. There was a little note that reminded me not to miss my "mood-lit ride."
Typical boarding passes feel like a standard-issue ticket — plain and lame. I felt like I was a carrying around a golden ticket to the cool airline carrier.
The music party didn't stop at check-in.
It found its way to the gate before boarding. One moment in particular that stood out was when a giant dance team was invited to board all together at the start of the flight. Music was played for the group of 20 or so girls as they giggled and gathered together. They were reminded to go to their assigned seats while boarding before playing musical chairs later during the flight to visit other friends.
They were treated more like friends and family rather than passengers. In my time flying, I hadn't seen anything like that and I'd be lying if I said it didn't bring a small smile to my face.
See the rest of the story at Business Insider
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