Virgin America: Here they come!

[Huggyu2]

http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/business/business-virginamerica.html?_r=2&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

Thoughts?

 

[jonjuan]

Good luck JetBlue.

 

[CaptJax]

Virgin America Up, Up And Away



VIRGIN AMERICA UP, UP AND AWAY

New low-cost airline to fly from SFO to New York and L.A. -- Burlingame-based company plans to expand service quickly


David Armstrong, Chronicle Staff Writer
Thursday, July 19, 2007

document.getElementById('fontpopup').onmouseout = sfgate_chfont_mo;

sfgate_get_fprefs(); Low-cost airline Virgin America finally takes to the skies next month, shaking up the Bay Area's air travel market with cheap flights to New York and Los Angeles.
Virgin, based in Burlingame, will start Aug. 8 with two daily nonstop flights between San Francisco International Airport and New York's John F. Kennedy Airport and five daily nonstop flights between SFO and Los Angeles International Airport.
The entry of a new low-cost carrier into the market could reduce fares on many routes for Bay Area passengers while multiplying departure times and destinations.
Introductory fares start at $44 one way to Los Angeles in coach and $149 in first class, while fares to New York begin at $139 one way in coach and $389 in first class.
In addition, Virgin America gives a shot in the arm to the region's airline industry. The airline says it eventually will create 3,000 to 5,000 jobs here for mechanics, flight attendants, pilots, reservationists and others.
Already, such established discount players as Southwest Airlines and JetBlue Airways are reacting by beefing up operations at SFO, the region's largest airport.
Virgin America hopes to expand relatively quickly.
The airline plans to increase flights between San Francisco and New York to four a day by Sept. 9 and ramp up service to other cities shortly afterward. On Sept. 26, the airline will begin two daily flights between San Francisco and Washington Dulles International Airport. On Oct. 10, it will begin service between SFO and Las Vegas with three daily nonstop flights.
The airline "expects to serve as many as 10 cities within a year of operation and up to 30 cities within five years of service,'' it said in a statement.
Tickets were to have gone on sale about 2:30 a.m. today on the airline's Web site, www.virginamerica.com, according to Virgin America spokesman Gareth Edmondson-Jones.
"Whether you're traveling in first class or the main cabin, we hope to offer our guests excellent service at affordable prices,'' said Virgin America President and CEO Fred Reid.
It's been a long time coming for Virgin America, 25 percent of which is owned by Virgin Atlantic Airways owner and business tycoon Richard Branson. It also licenses the Virgin brand from Branson. Virgin America chose SFO as its home airport in June 2004. But takeoff was delayed by a long wait to line up financing and regulators' concerns that Branson, a British citizen, would control the airline in violation of U.S. laws requiring that U.S. airlines be controlled by Americans.
Virgin America, which will fly Airbus A-320 aircraft, has hired 400 staffers and says it eventually will hire from 3,000 to 5,000 people, many of them in the Bay Area.
The new airline will fly into crowded skies.
Discount leader Southwest Airlines plans to return to SFO on Aug. 26, after a six-year absence, in part prompted by the emergence of Virgin America. Low-fare carrier JetBlue Airways began flying between SFO and JFK this spring. SkyBus, another low-cost carrier, began service last month at Oakland International Airport, and other discounters such as Spirit, Frontier and AirTran also serve Bay Area airports. Additionally, United Airlines offers a Premium Service for high-end business travelers between SFO and JFK.
Virgin America's decision to begin flying in the midst of what is turning out to be an extremely turbulent summer travel season marked by numerous flight cancellations and delays could backfire, said David Stempler, president of the Air Travelers Association, a passenger advocacy organization in Washington.
"Launching in the summer may not be a good idea,'' Stempler said. "A lot of leisure travel reservations were made well in advance. In the Midwest and on the East Coast, you have a lot of thunderstorms to deal with.''
Stempler said Virgin America's chances for success hinge on how well it meets consumers' three main criteria in buying a plane ticket: "They are price, airport convenience and frequent flier programs,'' he said.
Virgin America will offer a frequent flier program it calls by the idiosyncratic name eleVAte. The airline didn't provide details.
By choosing to offer transcontinental service as well as short-hop regional flights, Virgin America is flying in the teeth of conventional wisdom, which holds that low-fare airlines make money by flying short, quick routes that enable them to fill their aircraft several times a day, turn the planes around fast and work the planes hard. This is the model pioneered by low-fare leader Southwest.
"Southwest is offering something significantly different than we are,'' Reid said. "We are suited for long-haul because of the tremendous quality of the program.''
While Southwest and JetBlue fly all-economy-class planes, Virgin America hopes to set itself apart by offering first-class seating as well. The carrier also emphasizes its leather seats, seatback video screens and a sophisticated in-flight entertainment system that includes channels such as FX, Independent Film Channel and the Food Channel -- all amenities that Virgin America executives feel are attractions on lengthy flights.
Reid, who agreed to step down as Virgin America's CEO by mid-November as part of a deal to satisfy federal regulators who thought he was too beholden to Branson, said he was proud of getting Virgin America off the ground at last.
"I am focusing 100 percent on this airline, which I love,'' he said. "It's been such a tough slog. I have such appreciation for my teammates. I have no plans for afterward.''

Where new airline will fly
Virgin America will offer introductory fares on four routes:
SFO to JFK flights start Aug. 8
Coach $139
First class $389
JetBlue coach $209*
*Starting price for flights on the same day

SFO to LAX flights start Aug. 8
Coach $44
First class $149
Southwest coach $49*
*Flight on same day from Oakland to LAX

SFO to Dulles flights start Sept. 26
Fares to be announced
SFO to Las Vegas flights start Oct. 10
Fares: $44 coach, $149 first class

Source: Virgin America
E-mail David Armstrong at [email protected].

This article appeared on page A - 1 of the San Francisco Chronicle

 

[grog_sit_reserv]

"Our goal is to provide top-notch service at low fares," said Chief Executive Fred Reid

Wow! Insane! Massage Chairs too.... Bet it'll cost a quarter to run one by Christmas.

Ah well....

 

[CaptJax]

Virgin's Sales Slowed By Hackers


Sales for Virgin America's inaugural flights slowed by hacker


By MICHAEL LIEDTKE, AP Business Writer
Thursday, July 19, 2007
sfgate_get_fprefs(); (07-19) 15:06 PDT San Francisco (AP) --
Maverick airline Virgin America began selling tickets Thursday, giving travelers their first chance to book a trip on planes equipped to pamper passengers even when they aren't flying first-class.
The airline's inaugural flights are scheduled to take off Aug. 8 from Los Angeles and New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport and arrive at roughly the same time late that morning in San Francisco, which will serve as Virgin America's hub.
Tickets for the flights went on sale early Thursday through Virgin America's Web site and customer service number, 877-359-8474. A one-way ticket between Los Angeles and San Francisco started at $44, while one-way tickets San Francisco-New York started at $139.
Burlingame-based Virgin America also is selling tickets for flights to Las Vegas and Washington, D.C., scheduled to start in September and October.
Online ticket sales were slowed by an apparent hacker attack on Virgin America's Web site, airline spokesman Gareth Edmondson Jones said Thursday. The airline was still trying to fix the problem and identify the culprits Thursday afternoon.
Conceived by British billionaire Richard Branson, Virgin America is promising to shake up the U.S. airline industry by making flying a more luxurious experience at affordable prices. The airline has raised nearly $300 million from investors, led by Branson's Virgin Group, which controls the British-based Virgin Atlantic airline.
Virgin America's fleet of aircraft will include the latest high-tech equipment so passengers can order food from their seats, watch movies or television, listen to music and even plan their travel itinerary using Google Inc.'s popular online maps. Access to the maps will be built into Virgin America's entertainment system.
A first-class ticket, which will start at $149 for one-way flights between San Francisco and Los Angeles, will buy seating in a massage chair, among other amenities.
Virgin had to weather an unusual amount of turbulence to reach this point.
Several major U.S. airlines, including AMR Corp.'s American, Delta Air Lines Inc. and Continental Airlines Inc., tried to block Virgin America from entering the market. The airlines argued that Virgin America's ties to Branson violated federal laws capping foreign control of a U.S. airline at 25 percent.
The U.S. Department of Transportation sided with the airlines and initially denied Virgin America's application late last year.
Refusing to give up, Virgin America made a series of concessions that included selling more stock to U.S. investors and making a commitment to replace its current chief executive, Fred Reid, who was hired by Branson.
Reid, a former Delta executive, must step down by mid-November to comply with the order that cleared Virgin America for takeoff.
"It's slightly bittersweet for me, but the important thing is Virgin America gets to fly," Reid said.
The airline already has about 400 workers and expects to expand its payroll to more than 1,000 people during the next year. It plans to be flying to at least 10 cities by August 2008.

 

[CaptJax]

SWA, JB Lower Fares, Too



Southwest, JetBlue lower fares, too

Discounts coincide with arrival of Virgin America


David Armstrong, Chronicle Staff Writer
Saturday, July 21, 2007




sfgate_get_fprefs(); Startup airline Virgin America's plunge into the low-cost air travel market this week prompted fare cuts by two major rivals on Friday, holding out the prospect of a price war on several popular routes -- at least until the new carrier's low introductory offerings expire in November.
Virgin America, based in Burlingame, began selling tickets Thursday for travel beginning Aug. 8 through early next year. The carrier is offering very low initial fares, customary when an airline is promoting something special -- which, in Virgin America's case, is its birth.
The new airline's low fares were matched Friday by JetBlue Airways and Southwest Airlines, offering airline passengers a good chance to save money on flights between the Bay Area and New York and Los Angeles.
The cheap tickets on JetBlue and Southwest are for travel that begins on or after Aug. 8 and ends by Nov. 14, when the busy Thanksgiving travel season kicks in, followed by the almost-as-busy Christmas travel season. During those periods, airlines can get higher prices from holiday travelers.
Virgin America offers a $139 coach class fare for a one-way trip from its home airport, San Francisco International Airport, to John F. Kennedy International Airport. That was matched on Friday by JetBlue, which calls JFK home, and has pioneered amenities that Virgin America will be offering, such as leather seats and TV seatback screens. JetBlue's lowest published fare on that route had been $179.
Both airlines add fees and some restrictions to the prices. In addition, the cheapest fares are not available on every flight. Virgin America's one-way San Francisco-to-New York fare goes as high as $199, while JetBlue charges up to $264 on the route.
Virgin America's $389 one-way first class fare from SFO to JFK stands alone, as JetBlue doesn't offer first class.
Also on Friday, discount carrier Southwest matched Virgin America's $44 one-way coach class fare before taxes and fees between the Bay Area and Los Angeles International Airport. Southwest's Oakland-to-Los Angeles fare ranges up to $124, while Virgin America's high reaches $119.
Southwest will not begin flying from SFO until Aug. 28, but the $44 fare will apply before then on a comparable route between LAX and Oakland International Airport, where it is flying now. Southwest's lowest published fare on the Bay Area-Los Angeles route had been $49.
Virgin America's $149 one-way first class fare to LAX will also stand alone, as Southwest doesn't offer first class.
JetBlue said it will also equal Virgin America's $139 coach class fares between JFK and LAX, a route Virgin America plans to begin flying in autumn.
JetBlue, based in Forest Hills, N.Y., began offering service from SFO in May, and that was partly in anticipation of the expected transcontinental competition from Virgin America, JetBlue's founder David Neeleman said then.
For its part, Southwest accelerated its return to SFO after a five-year absence in part to take on Virgin America, Southwest CEO Gary Kelly told The Chronicle this spring.
"We're keeping a close eye on them,'' Southwest spokesman Chris Mainz said Friday about Virgin America. "We will compete very vigorously. I think you'll find we'll continue to be the low-fare leader.''
Southwest's price cuts on selected competitive routes follow several fare increases in the past year. The latest added from $1 to $10 to one-way flights nationwide last week.
E-mail David Armstrong at [email protected].