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Virgin America To Launch New Flights To Newark Liberty International Airport

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Q400 Gear Bitch

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SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 11, 2012 -- /PRNewswire/ -- Virgin America, the airline that is reinventing domestic travel, announces it will bring its low-fare, upscale service to New Jersey's Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) as of April 2, 2013, with tickets on sale today for three daily nonstop roundtrip flights from both San Francisco International Airport (SFO) and Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) to EWR. Virgin America will bring some healthy competition to the market, with low fares and service that has taken top honors as "Best U.S. Airline" in both Conde Nast Traveler's annual Readers' Choice Awards and Travel + Leisure's annual World's Best Awards every year since the airline's 2007 launch. With fleetwide WiFi, custom-designed leather seating, power outlets, personal touch-screen entertainment platforms and new aircraft with three classes of service, Virgin America's business-friendly flights will offer a fresh new option for travelers to the region. EWR tickets are available for purchase now at www.virginamerica.com and at 1.877.FLY.VIRGIN* with EWR-SFO and EWR-LAX fares from $149** (taxes and fees included and restrictions applying). To mark the expansion to its 20th airport destination, the carrier is launching a fare sale across its network with flights from $49** (taxes and fees included and restrictions applying). Tickets are available for purchase now at www.virginamerica.com.
(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20090123/VIRGINAMERICALOGO)
"As a low-fare carrier with new planes that look like nothing else in the skies, we hope our flights can offer some healthy competition and a better choice for travelers," said Virgin America President and CEO David Cush. "Just like in any industry, when more companies compete – consumers win. This is a hugely important market and one that deserves more flight options. We are thankful to the Port Authority and the local leaders who were instrumental in making this happen and who had the vision to increase air service options at Newark Liberty."
Headquartered in California, Virgin America has already built a strong following of bi-coastal flyers with its popular nonstop flights from both LAX and SFO to New York's JFK. As one of the few U.S. airlines adding jobs in the past five years, Virgin America has created more than 2,600 new American jobs since its launch. It is estimated that for every one new airline job created, there is a 5:1 job multiplier.[1]
The addition of Newark to its network means Virgin America will now serve eight of the top ten business markets from both SFO and LAX.
"We couldn't be more pleased to welcome more new flight options to Newark Airport,'' said Susan Baer, the Port Authority's aviation director. "More air service is a strong driver of regional economic development and jobs."
With top-notch guest service, beautifully-designed cabins and inventive in-flight amenities, Virgin America has taken top honors as "Best U.S. Airline" in both Conde Nast Traveler's annual Readers' Choice Awards and Travel + Leisure's annual World's Best Awards every year since its 2007 launch. In addition to a Main Cabin that offers leather seating with a deeper, more comfortable pitch, the airline's First Class offers plush white leather seats with 55 inches of pitch, 165 degrees of recline and lumbar massagers. The carrier's Main Cabin Select offers 38 inches of pitch, free food and cocktails, an all-access pass to media, priority check-in/boarding and more. All guests enjoy their own personal entertainment via a nine-inch seatback touch-screen with:

  • More than 25 on-demand movies, including independent, foreign language and latest release blockbusters
  • 18 channels of live TV and 6 channels of cached TV, including MSNBC, CNN, CNBC, Bravo, ABC, CBS and more
  • 4,000 song music library and the ability to create a custom play-list in-flight
  • A videogame library and interactive Google Maps, so guests can track their journey at eight levels of zoom
  • Onboard seat-to-seat chat messaging
  • World's first on-demand food and drink ordering system with a menu named best in the U.S. by Travel + Leisure
  • A charitable giving platform, which includes carbon offsets available via partner Carbonfund.org and causes like the official Hurricane Sandy New Jersey Relief Fund, a nonprofit charitable organization chaired by First Lady Mary Pat Christie to help New Jersey communities rebuild. Virgin America flyers nationwide can also help contribute to causes at 35,000 feet right from their seatback via the airline's in-flight entertainment platform.
The airline's daily nonstop schedule from the West Coast to EWR is as follows:
FROM TO DEP ARR STOPS EWR LAX 915 1230 NONE EWR LAX 1300 1615 NONE EWR LAX 1855 2210 NONE




FROM TO DEP ARR STOPS LAX EWR 940 1800 NONE LAX EWR 1315 2129 NONE LAX EWR 2345 0759 (+1) NONE




FROM TO DEP ARR STOPS EWR SFO 730 1105 NONE EWR SFO 1030 1405 NONE EWR SFO 1730 2105 NONE




FROM TO DEP ARR STOPS SFO EWR 800 1635 NONE SFO EWR 1505 2340 NONE SFO EWR 2115 0545 (+1) NONE




Service: Beginning April 02, 2013

Connecting flights will also be available from EWR to and from the airline's Las Vegas, Portland, Seattle, Palm Springs, San Diego and Los Cabos destinations.
Virgin America has a new fleet that is up to 25 percent more fuel efficient than the average U.S. fleet. The airline flies to San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, Washington D.C. (Dulles and Reagan National), Seattle, Las Vegas, San Diego, Boston, Fort Lauderdale, Orlando, Dallas-Fort Worth, Los Cabos, Cancun, Chicago, Puerto Vallarta, Palm Springs, Philadelphia and Portland.
For broadcast-quality video and photos of the carrier's unique aircraft, visit: http://www.virginamerica.com/press-release.do
 
No competition on that route. Great idea. ;)
 
No competition on that route. Great idea. ;)
Exactly. Before the merger, United did it out of SFO and Continental out of EWR. Since the merger, only the new United does it and they dominate the route by being the only non-stop carrier from SFO to EWR. VA is the 2nd airline that will fly this route nonstop.
 
Where did VX get the slots for this service?
 
Where did VX get the slots for this service?

Apparently we have been working on it for quite a while. We finally got the slots we wanted. It has nothing to do with Virgin Atlantic because Virgin America has nothing to do with Virgin Atlantic except sharing the first part of our name and some of our money comes from the same place.
 
Nothing to do with the VA announcement.

VX has been trying for 5 years to get slots for EWR. Received approval from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey for our EWR lease agreement last week.
 
So VX has just petitioned to start service without having any slots? Doesnt add up...

The FAA controls the slots at a given airport. Are you saying the FAA just created 6 slots for VX without putting them out for a bidding process to other applications?

I did see that the Port Authority worked with VX to secure Gate 32, which they will be leasing from American on a 6yr term, but that doesnt have anything to do with takeoff/landing slots.
 
So VX has just petitioned to start service without having any slots? Doesnt add up...

The FAA controls the slots at a given airport. Are you saying the FAA just created 6 slots for VX without putting them out for a bidding process to other applications?

I did see that the Port Authority worked with VX to secure Gate 32, which they will be leasing from American on a 6yr term, but that doesnt have anything to do with takeoff/landing slots.

I believe 2 slots are being exchanged from JFK (frequency cut). Not sure where the rest are coming from, but they are here.
 
Not only slots... Where are the planes coming from? Are you guys reducing frequency elsewhere?
 
The largetst problem I see for VA is that route structure. I'm just not sure how you capture much market share when you are trying to fly everyone to SFO and LAX. With the reduction in future aircraft, I just don't see the route map getting any better.
 
Not only slots... Where are the planes coming from? Are you guys reducing frequency elsewhere?

1 new A320 delivery in March. It will be used for those new April flights. Plus, there is a little frequency reduction from JFK and IAD (I think 1 less each day depending on the day of the week).



The largetst problem I see for VA is that route structure. I'm just not sure how you capture much market share when you are trying to fly everyone to SFO and LAX. With the reduction in future aircraft, I just don't see the route map getting any better.
Agreed. I think we'll be seeing some changes for 2013. Point-to-point would be nice, flying from cities we already fly to. Especially for the winter season, we should go north to south (ORD, JFK, BOS, IAD, PHL, etc down to DFW, MCO, FLL).
 
Especially for the winter season, we should go north to south (ORD, JFK, BOS, IAD, PHL, etc down to DFW, MCO, FLL).


Gotta paint your planes blue before you do that ;)

Also you were correct previously stating the slots will come from AA as well as the gate space:

http://www.panynj.gov/press-room/press-item.cfm?headLine_id=1723

Virgin America, a low-cost carrier with limited service in the New York metropolitan area, will take over aircraft slot rights at Newark Liberty from American, whose parent company is currently reorganizing under bankruptcy protection. Virgin America will have sufficient slots to offer six daily flights to Los Angeles and San Francisco starting next year. The arrangement is in accordance with a Federal Aviation Administration mandate to increase competition at Newark Liberty.

Im quite surprised that AA gave the slots to VX considering B6 has also shown interest in growing EWR.
 
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Gotta paint your planes blue before you do that ;)

Also you were correct previously stating the slots will come from AA as well as the gate space:

http://www.panynj.gov/press-room/press-item.cfm?headLine_id=1723



Im quite surprised that AA gave the slots to VX considering B6 has also shown interest in growing EWR.

How are you surprised? VX is full of AA executives (ex). More decisions are probably made on a golf course between Cush, Carty, and current AA management than we realize.
 
How are you surprised? VX is full of AA executives (ex). More decisions are probably made on a golf course between Cush, Carty, and current AA management than we realize.


When I think of VX I think of Branson and all of the 'AA/BA no way' crap. He is probably just a public relations figurehead of the organization, and the true deal makers are the ex-AA people.
 
Yeah, I remember ATA opening the SFO-EWR route about 6 months before filing for bankruptcy. "Honest growth, coast to coast" was the marketing gimmick on that. Continental flooded the new routes with additional seats and ATA was out of that city pair in months.
 

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