Virgin America Debuts With ‘Party-Like Atmosphere’
Travel Blog • Michael Yessis • 08.09.07 | 12:36 PM ET
Richard Branson’s long-awaited and much-anticipated Virgin America airlines took to the air for a heavily-documented first outing yesterday. The flight from New York City to San Francisco was delayed 15 minutes by bad weather—the storms caused guest of honor Stephen Colbert, who the plane was named after, to miss the christening ceremony, too—but reports from the air were favorable.
From USA Today’s Ben Mutzabaugh:
In the spirit of the ceremonial flight, a party-like atmosphere extended throughout the plane. CEO Fred Reid and Virgin Group chief Richard Branson spent part of the flight chatting in row 3, immediately behind the bulkhead. Throughout the back of the plane, people milled about chatting and drinking champagne.
Another big hit, according to Mutzabaugh: Virgin’s “Red” entertainment system. He has extensive coverage of it and the flight at his Today in the Sky blog.
Jaunted’s Mark Johnson shot some video from the cabin and interviewed David Loewy, who paid $5,400 in an eBay auction for the privilege of joining the first flight.
Related on World Hum:
* Virgin America Offers First U.S. Bookings
* Airline ‘Geeks’ Drop Everything for Inaugural Flights
Photo via Virgin America.
Email to friend
Twitter
del.icio.us
Digg
Facebook
Furl
Ma.gnolia
Mixx
Reddit
StumbleUpon
Yahoo! Buzz
Michael Yessis is the cofounder and coeditor-in-chief of World Hum.
Diane Sarr 08.11.07 | 4:12 PM ET
Hi,
Last month you had a show about private island ownership. I would like to know the name and address and phone number for the agent that handles private island sales. Please send to my email address. Thank you.