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Virgin America is Aware of Super Poking; Recommends 'Light Tapping'

July 2, 2009 at 1:39 PM | 0 Comments

The other day we griped about the "super poking" that often goes on aboard flights with touchscreen seat back TVs, like on Virgin America, where cranky grandmas are nearly banging on the RED system to order their ginger ale and crackers.

But the folks at Virgin America are aware of the situation and are going to begin informing passengers that the "light-tapping" method works the best. Here's what they told Jaunted:

In response, our crews are now including a verbal advisory in-flight which notes that light tapping works best for the Red system interface.  This is also included in our in-flight “How to use Red” guide (see attached). 

We’re definitely monitoring this and hope as people get more acclimated to the system they can see that only the gentlest touch is needed to change channels, select movies, videogames, zoom your journey on Google Maps – or any of the other activities Red offers at every seatback.

We also have qwerty keyboards and a handset remote in every armrest that offers guests full control over Red if they’d prefer not to use the touch-screen.

Did ya hear that Grams? Light-tapping works the best. We'll even come back there and show you how to do it.  

Related Stories:
· The Problem With Seat Back TVs: A Different Kind of Super Poke [Jaunted]
· 2009 In-Flight Entertainment Status Update [Jaunted]

The Problem With Seat Back TVs: A Different Kind of Super Poke

June 29, 2009 at 6:39 PM | 4 Comments

If you've flown on a flight recently with those glorious seat back TVs, you might have felt some more poking and prodding on your seat back than usual. No, it's not from that little kid kicking the seat behind you. It's actually coming from that little kid who's trying to work the seat back TV behind you.

Or as a recent passenger on Virgin America recently Twittered:

@richardbranson, May want to rethink the seat-back touch screen idea on Virgin America. Nothing like 3 hours being punched in the head...

We've actually had this happen to us on a Virgin America flight last month from LAX to JFK. Except it wasn't a little kid. It was a fussy old grandmother who was so annoyed the RED system wasn't working as soon as she sat down in her seat. She then continued to punch hard on the screen before her son told her that it would work once the plane took off.

When we were in the air, the poking continued until finally Grams had some absinthe and passed out. Ok, we're joking about that last part but she did take a nap for a while. Then the poking started again. Guess you can't have everything in-flight after all, huh?

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Related Stories:
· Outerpol [Twitter]
· 2009 Airline In-Flight Entertainment Status Update [Jaunted]

The Day in the Cloud Challenge Was Um...Challenging

June 24, 2009 at 5:28 PM | 0 Comments

We were able to fly on Virgin America from LAX to SFO this morning for the airline's inaugural Day in the Cloud Challenge--the first-ever online puzzle challenge that can be played in the air and on the ground. We competed against another Virgin America flight using the GoGo in-flight WiFi (which was complimentary to all guests on VA flights today.)

GoGo's WiFi network was understandably overstressed this morning but once we were able to play the game, things did not get easier. These games are actually quite hard! And there was a very cool prize at stake. The two flights were vying to win a free netbook for everyone on the plane.

So how did it end up? Well, we were on the winning flight but we're still not sure how this game works.

Related Stories:
· 'Calling All Jeopardy Geniuses' For Virgin America's Impossible Trivia Game [Jaunted]

Gogo Goes With A Monthly In-Flight WiFi Plan, But Is It Worth It?

June 23, 2009 at 9:04 AM | 0 Comments

We love in-flight WiFi and you know we don’t try to hide it. That’s why we were stoked—if people use that word anymore—to hear that Gogo Inflight Internet is now offering a monthly pass. This is a great option for frequent fliers that are tired of shelling out $10 bucks or so every time they want to catch up on email, and it means that Gogo is going strong.

The Gogo 30-Day Pass will set you back $49.95 and is available now on Virgin America and Delta. However, your pass is only good for a single carrier, so you can’t use your monthly pass on both of the airlines. With Delta only having some of their planes equipped and no way to know if you're on one until boarding, we think Virgin America is the safer choice.

On the flip side of this move, this is just another bill we’ll have each month for Internet access. With access at home, on our phones, and now in the sky, we're doling out a lot of cash to stay connected. What do you think? Deal or no deal when it comes to Gogo’s new monthly connection plan? Let us know in the comments below.

Related Stories:
· Gogo Inflight Internet - Gogo Price [Official Site]
· First! All Virgin America Planes Are Now Equipped With In-Flight WiFi [Jaunted]
· WiFi coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Official Site]

2009 Airline In-Flight Entertainment Status Update

June 15, 2009 at 1:22 PM | 7 Comments

2009 has been the year when the US Domestic air carriers have really begun to step up their in-flight entertainment systems. We are no longer in the post-WWII era where airlines can cling to an occasional projector movie during longer flights. Furthermore, the CRT drop-down world is very close to extinction as well. These days seat back LCD screens and IFEC (c is for connectivity) are all the rage and most US airlines are expanding their offerings accordingly.

Of course, younger airlines with a smaller fleet have a built-in advantage here (fewer and newer planes), but that doesn't change the increasing demand from passengers for better, more reliable IFEC options. It could even be argued that customers are more likely to accept higher ancillary fees for things like extra luggage and pets if they can kick back with a killer IFEC on the flight.

Just this weekend we heard a JetBlue customer comment to her friend at baggage claim:

We sat on the tarmac for an hour at JFK, but by the time I watched three shows I was where I needed to be -- how can you beat that?

It seems in todays world, all delays might even be close to forgiven if you can get caught up on Jon and Kate Plus Eight while you wait.

Click here for our 2009 IFEC Chart and see how the airlines stack up against each other.

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'Calling All Jeopardy Geniuses' For Virgin America's Impossible Trivia Game

June 12, 2009 at 9:07 AM | 0 Comments

A week ago, we reported on on the upcoming online "scavenger" challenger that is Virgin America's "Day In the Cloud." At the time, it seemed like an excuse to play word games and stretch our mental muscles during the workday while competing for prizes, but we were wrong—it is gruelingly taxing on the brain.

Yesterday brought the first practice game to prepare us for the big day on June 24, but its difficulty combined with their boring and unhelpful video series has turned us off. Beware in-flight critical thinking...

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A Year Of Free Virgin America Flights From Solving Puzzles? We're In.

June 4, 2009 at 11:27 AM | 1 Comment

Remember crossword puzzles? Those delightful little grids of trivia fun that both validated your esoteric knowledge and made flight time pass quickly? Thanks to the ubiquity of ipods, Kindles and in-flight WiFi, poor puzzles have withered into being an old man's Sunday afternoon activity. But they're back! Kind of!

On Wednesday June 24, the Wifi-enabled fleet of Virgin America's planes invite their passengers and those on the ground to whip out their critical thinking and put the credit cards away for a day of free puzzle challenges. It's being called the "Day In the Cloud," and although details are still fuzzy on exactly what sort of games we'll be playing, they assure us that practice tasks will be shared beforehand.

As for the prizes for top scorers, they're pretty sweet: things like a new HP netbook, 1 terabyte of Google Account storage, and a year of flying free on VA with complimentary WiFi. According to them, playing along will be simple as all you'll need is "a net connection, a Google Account, and the warm, comforting glow of your computer screen." Since we've long been devotees of good old in-flight puzzles, you know we're game. Sign up now at their website.

Related Stories:
· Day In the Cloud [Virgin America]
· Solving Puzzles 35,000 Feet Above Ground [PSFK]
· Virgin America Coverage [Jaunted]

[Image: Virgin America]

Virgin America and V Australia Team Up For Sexy, Seamless Transpacific Travel

June 3, 2009 at 10:32 AM | 4 Comments

How much do you love Richard Branson? As if his LCC Virgin America isn't awesome enough for introducing mood lighting and fleet-wide WiFi to the US skies, now his Aussie outfit of V Australia will join with VA to offer seamless cross-Pacific travel between the two airlines.

Via an interline agreement between the carriers which goes into effect this week, passengers can now book a single ticket on V Australia's website for travel on both airlines from Australia into the US and beyond. Not to mention that trips through LAX mean enjoying the awesomeness of Virgin's Terminal 3— think mood lighting both inside and curbside, destination weather information displayed next to flight details, Eames sling chairs, and check-in counters more like concierge desks.

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First! All Virgin America Planes Are Now Equipped With In-Flight WiFi

May 20, 2009 at 11:10 AM | 7 Comments

Perhaps all it took was a competitive nudge from Air Tran last week to push Virgin America to outfit their entire fleet with in-flight WiFi today, courtesy of Gogo In-flight Internet. And ahead of schedule too! The news straight from the press release:

As of today, guests on any of Virgin America’s 100 daily flights have the option to surf the Web, check e-mail, or log on to their corporate VPN – all from the comfort of their seats at 37,000 feet. Virgin America marks this in-flight WiFi milestone with another first for an airline: an air-to-ground Skype video call with Oprah Winfrey which will air this Thursday, May 21 on The Oprah Winfrey Show (check local listings).

This is especially great news for Jaunted because we just happen to be boarding a Virgin America flight to JFK later this afternoon. We'll be tweeting about it of course, so be sure to follow us. You never know what might happen when absinthe and WiFi collide!

Gogo In-flight Internet begins at $9.95 for flights shorter than three hours and $12.95 for longer flights. Connect via your mobile phone for $7.95 for the length of the flight.

Related Stories:
· AirTran Blows the Field Wide Open With Fleetwide In Flight WiFi [Jaunted]
· Virgin America Promises Fleetwide WiFi By June [Jaunted]
· Virgin America [Official Site]

How to Chase the Green Fairy On Virgin America

May 19, 2009 at 5:08 PM | 2 Comments

A few weeks back we mentioned that Virgin America would be serving Le Tourment Vert absinthe drinks in the sky. A few days after that announcement, we found ourselves on a flight back from Seattle, pondering the purchase of said drink. But since we know our go-to drink, chardonnay, can do the job and do the job well, we decided to skip the absinthe. However, our row mate decided to splurge on not one, but two Le Tourment Vert absinthe drinks.

According to the RED ordering system, you can pick your mixer to go with the green absinthe which arrives in a small bottle with a cork stopper. However, Le Tourment Vert suggests mixing the drink with Sprite and garnishing with a lemon wedge.

While the drink is 100 proof and includes traditional ingredients like grand wormwood, star anise, fennel, sage and eucalyptus, it's not going to make you see things that aren't really there (as Oscar Wilde once said.) Then again, after downing his drinks, our row mate did hop onto the Virgin in-flight WiFi to begin cruising his eHarmony.com love matches. Ah, there's nothing like liquid courage.

Le Tourment Vert is served gratis in First Class and Main Cabin Select and is available for $8 in economy class.

Related Stories:
· Chase the Green Fairy Onboard Virgin America [Jaunted]
· Le Tourment Vert [Official Site]

Will Virgin America Fly to Chicago Next?

May 12, 2009 at 4:25 PM | 1 Comment

What up Chi-town? Could there be a Virgin America launch party hosted by Branson and Kanye West in your near future? It's possible if we are to judge anything from the results of a recent VA survey.

The Virgin America questionnaire asked travelers which new route they would most like to see next from the airline. And the winner of the popularity contest was—drumroll please—SFO to Chicago. This we totally understand since, with the exception of Las Vegas, VA has pretty much ignored the "fly-over states."

The next most-wanted route is SFO to Honolulu, followed by SFO to Miami. Honestly, we're surprised that JFK to Miami is not #1 right now instead of #8. Remember the days when we thought that VA would put Miami before Seattle service? But considering that VA has been trying to break into the Chicago market for a while now, this might actually happen first. Sorry Miami! You will have to wait to carry your naked party back to the plane.

Related Stories:
· Virgin America coverage [Jaunted]
· Airlines Play Hopscotch at Chicago O'Hare Airport [Jaunted]

Branson Takes Time Out from Partying To Raise Awareness for Darfur

May 8, 2009 at 5:12 PM | 2 Comments

Sir Richard Branson, head of all things Virgin, has decided to step in on a three-week hunger strike for Darfur, after activist Mia Farrow had to drop out. Farrow did however complete 12 days of the liquids-only fast before a doctor told her to stop due to health concerns.

Branson will do a hunger fast for three days.

"Over a year-and-a-half ago, I traveled to Darfur and was horrified by the stories that people of all ages shared with us," he said. "Now, with 13 aid organizations expelled from the country, over one million people are at grave risk. We cannot stand and watch as one million people suffer. We all need to stand up and demand that international aid is restored and that the people of Darfur are protected and given the chance to live in peace."

It's nice to see that Branson's life is not always all about launching new airline routes and posing with naked models.

Related Stories:
· Mia Farrow Ends Hunger Strike After 12 Days [US Weekly]
· Fast for Life [Official Site]
· Richard Branson Kisses Jaunted [Jaunted]