Your Nomad-in-Chief is no longer a virgin. No longer a Virgin virgin, that is. I am writing this high in the sky in a return flight from SFO to BOS aboard Virgin America. I have heard fellow Nomads raving about Virgin for years and so I decided to skip the chance for more miles on United or JetBlue to give the hip alternative a try.
So here’s the good, bad, and the ugly from one business traveler’s perspective.
The trip started out quite well. Virgin’s outpost in Terminal B at BOS is a bit removed from its bigger rivals and so it has its own security line. It was the first time since the creation of the TSA that I have had absolutely no queue to get through security. It was a breeze!
Food service was limited but adequate in the Virgin nook: just one vendor offering the usual array of food and beverages. If you want something special (or hot), get it before security. The staff at the gate was quite pleasant.
At SFO, Virgin is in a new terminal with a wide array of food and shopping options, an XpresSpa (my new travel treat), and lots and lots of outlets for charging one’s devices.
Now my first beef. That didn’t take long, did it? When I checked in online all that showed as available without a surcharge were middle seats (note: I am flying coach in both directions). Upon boarding, I discovered that the window seat next to me was one of several empty seats on the flight. On the return, no seats appeared available save for three that carried a $129 surcharge. I checked in at the gate and am now sitting in an exit row with two empty seats. According to the flight attendant, there are about 10 empty seats in coach on this flight. Hiding available standard seats seems a rather cheeky way to try to extract an upgrade fee. It is becoming increasingly common on air carriers and I think, frankly, that it is disrespectful to travelers. Virgin claims to hold itself to a higher standard. Well, not high enough.
Both planes (A319s with a 3-3 configuration for those of you who follow such things), were new and clean. The seating in coach was comfortable and I appreciated both the white seat backs and trays (they reflect light and brighten the cabin) and seat back pockets that are actually designed to hold something besides the safety card. The mesh front pocket made it easy to see if I had forgotten anything I had stowed there.
Inflight wi-fi was available via GoGo on both flights though I found the $17.95 cost (each way) to be excessive. If I didn’t need it for business, I would have passed it up.
I tried the on-demand food ordering system each way. On the outbound flight the food arrived in a minute or two; on the return flight it took half-an-hour. As best I can tell this is because I ordered after the beverage service on the first flight and before it on the second. All of the requested food was delivered as they wheeled the beverage cart along. I did Tweet a complaint and received a quick inquiry from the social media team at Virgin America although there was nothing they could do directly. The food selection was good and the quality was what I have come to expect of airline food: keep the expectations modest and there is less chance of disappointment. Although I did not opt for wine on either flight (don’t look so surprised — these were morning flights and I had business to do) but the options looked like a step above the generic red and white offered by most carriers). The Artisan Cheese box came with odd wooden implement that was awkward to use with the brie but that’s a quibble. The food itself was just fine.
There is a $25 per bag fee for any checked baggage that is waived for one bag if you spring for the coach upgrade or all bags if you are in Upper Class. My checked “bag” was actually a case of wine I’d put together in Sonoma — and it arrived intact.
Will I return? I am back to SFO in a few weeks and haven’t yet booked my flight. It isn’t a slam dunk. Let’s just say that I’ve lost my Virginity but am still weighing monogamy.
Photo credit: The Sky Steward
