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New Route News from British Airways, Lufthansa and More

July 23, 2010 at 9:33 AM | by kjb | 0 Comments

Sometimes it’s hard to stay on top of all the new route announcements that come our way, so we’ve complied a little bit of a rundown below. As long as you can afford the fares, this should definitely help add to your passport stamp collection.

· British Airways:
We’ve always wanted to go to Sweden to see where Volvos and all that Ikea furniture comes from, and now it’s a little bit easier thanks to British Airways. The airline has announced plans to serve Gothenburg, and they put the tickets up for sale earlier this week. Things will get underway on November 28, and the flights will operate twice per day. Of course the flights will come and go from London-Heathrow’s Terminal 5, so be sure to stick to carryon luggage only.

· Tiger Airways:
If Taipei is on your travel bucket list, Tiger Airways is hoping to help you get there and to save you some cash doing so. The airline plans to start flying Singapore-Taipei on January 11, and it'll be the airline’s sixth destination to the greater China area. The new route will set you back about $60 each way through March, but will probably climb a little bit after that. The airline is also increasing their flight frequency to Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Macau, and Shenzhen. All the flights will head out from Singapore.

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More News from Virgin America: Open Bar Tabs and Enhanced Google Maps

July 22, 2010 at 12:31 PM | by JetSetCD | 0 Comments

First they come up with a "Hangover Clause" and now an open tab...

Even more news from Virgin America today, and this time it's less to do with their planes and more to do with what's inside of them. Virgin has upgraded their RED seat-back TV system to include more than just TV, music, games, passenger chat and food ordering; the RED TV now includes a whole shopping experience, enhanced Google Maps and—omg, omg—the ability to keep an open bar tab.

We've already written about the SkyMall-powered touchscreen shopping news before—check out all those details and the $38,000 diamond-encrusted iPhone here and a video here—so let's now focus on the drinkin' and the mappin'.

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Virgin America Orders Up Like a Gazillion More Planes

July 22, 2010 at 10:42 AM | by JetSetCD | 5 Comments

Just when Emirates shocks with orders for 32 new, giant A380s, making their total superjumbo order 90-strong, along comes the announcement from Virgin America that they've placed orders for forty new Airbus A320s, with the option for an additional twenty beyond that by 2018.

Okay, so nothing can really beat Emirates' splurge, but the Virgin America announcement is noteworthy in that it will triple the airline's fleet, and the new aircraft—to be delivered beginning in 2013—will feature the newish "sharklets," a larger and redesigned version of the American flag-painted winglets you'll currently find on the tips of the plane wings. Aside from reminding us of the awesome "Shark Week" on the Discovery Channel, sharklets mean fuel savings and increased eco-efficiency for VX's already pretty green-conscious fleet.

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2010 US Airline In-Flight Entertainment Guide

July 20, 2010 at 10:29 AM | by JetSetCD | 5 Comments

Ten years ago, back when JetBlue launched, In-Flight Entertainment was forever changed. Gone were the days when airline passengers expected screens to drop from the fuselage and play one movie followed by a couple episodes of "Everybody Loves Raymond." Instead, the norm became $99 flights each way between SFO and JFK and on each airplane, leather seats with personal music ports and seat-back TVs showing live satellite television.

Flash forward 10 years and while no airline this side of Virgin America has really been able to come close to JetBlue's LiveTV experience, the IFE gap between Jetblue and the rest of the pack widens, thanks to advances with in-flight wifi. Airlines who've been quick to join the Gogo WiFi party are working to now make internet-connected planes just as accepted and expected by passengers as in-flight TV.

All of this means that, in 2010, the IFE game is changing once again and the race is on to see who can provide the best domestic IFE package. We have packaged up the right now of IFE into a handy guide for you to look at on the web, or take with you.

Click Here to see a printable chart of IFE onboard the airlines

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Virgin America's 'Air Drake' Lands in Toronto, with Richard Branson and Arnold Schwarzenegger in Tow

Where: Toronto, ON, Canada
June 30, 2010 at 1:26 PM | by juliana | 0 Comments

Virgin America officially celebrated their international launch yesterday, of flights to and from LAX/SFO and Toronto, by naming the plane in honor of hip hop artist, Toronto native and most importantly, "DeGrassi High: The Next Generation" star Drake.

Here's a look at Air Drake complete with a mention of his new album, Thank Me Later, which just dropped on June 15. Ok, you still don't know who he is but check out Wikipedia for a brief introduction.

Onboard the flight was also Richard Branson, CEO David Cush, The Governator (just for the LA-SFO leg), Giles Martini (aka the Naked Man from Sex and the City 1), Eric Roberts, Audrina's ex-BF Ryan Cabrera, Cheryl Burke and hotelier Jason Pomeranc whose new hotel in Toronto--The Thompson Toronto—everyone onboard shacked up at later.

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Virgin America Will Go South of the Border to Cancun and Cabo

Where: Mexico
June 29, 2010 at 11:27 AM | by JetSetCD | 0 Comments

At this very moment, Richard Branson, CEO of Virgin Group, is announcing the next two destinations for the low-cost airline Virgin America and they are as we expected: Cabo San Lucas and Cancun, from both San Francisco and Los Angeles.

The announcement comes at the start of a huge party at SFO to mark Virgin America's first route over the border into Canada, to Toronto to be more specific. The party is where we're at right now, and while we're trying not to invade the personal space of California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, we can't help but be excited for the future south of the border flights. We're just waiting for someone to start chanting "VX to MEX!"

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Now That Virgin America Flies to Canada, How Soon Until Mexico?

June 25, 2010 at 8:38 AM | by kjb | 0 Comments

You know we’re all over new route confirmations and announcements, but we enjoy speculating on new flight options even more. One of our favorite airlines to gossip about is Virgin America, for the fact that they're still working on becoming a household name and because, when it comes to choosing destinations, they've got their eye on places new and exciting.

The latest news is that the airline might be thinking about Mexico. Now that they’ve begun their service to Toronto it might be more appropriate to change their name to Virgin North America—har har. If the latest information is true, we’d expect flights to and from one of the tourist hotspots like Cabo San Lucas (as we've speculated about before), but we also think they could try to ferry passengers right into Mexico City.

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Touchscreen Shopping at 35,000 Feet: Virgin America Upgrades Seat-back TVs with 'The Red Store'

June 10, 2010 at 8:33 AM | by JetSetCD | 4 Comments

Skymall is dead, long live Skymall!

EXCLUSIVE: In a first for airlines, Virgin America has announced that their state-of-the-art touchscreen seat-back TVs will get an upgrade to become an "on-demand touch-screen in-flight Shopping platform," called The Red Store.

Already on Virgin America, you can use the TVs to order food, chat with other passengers, play games and watch satellite television, but The Red Store kicks it up a huge notch. This will be the first time that Skymall products are available for purchase through a seat-back TV, and don't you know that Virgin is throwing a few special nuggets into the mix.

Did somebody say $38,000 diamond-encrusted iPhone?!

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Do You Have What It Takes to Name the Next Virgin America Plane?

Where: Toronto, Canada
June 9, 2010 at 10:35 AM | by JetSetCD | 0 Comments

If there's one thing that's pretty much impossible on our life's bucket list, it's to be able to christen a ship or an airplane. But thanks to Virgin America's newest contest, this dream might come true for you.

To celebrate Virgin America's new SFO and LAX to Toronto routes, which begin flying very soon in the last few days of June, the airline is asking for you best guess at a name for one of the planes flying the routes. You can enter their "Name the Canadian Bird" contest here. On June 18 they will close the submissions and then release the top 10 for people to vote on the winner—which they'll announce on board of the inaugural flight on June 29 from 35,000 feet.

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Richard Branson Will Make Virgin Atlantic Feel Shiny and New

May 24, 2010 at 4:30 PM | by JetSetCD | 0 Comments

Sir Richard Branson took his beloved Virgin Atlantic airlines down for its inaugural flight from London to Accra, Ghana earlier, and luckily Business Traveller UK was onboard to hear all the juicy details of Bransy's plans for updating his fleet to better accommodate leisure flyers.

In March 2011, Virgin Atlantic will unveil entirely new looks for their Economy, Premium Economy and Upper Class cabins on new A330 planes. And it'll be more than just the seats! Expect huge overhauls in in-flight entertainment, and Business Traveller quotes Sir Richard as saying that "it would surpass even that offered by Virgin America." He even added the extra bit of news that Virgin Atlantic could be interested in scooping up bmi airlines.

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Your Next Virgin America Flight Might Have Hot Australian Flight Attendants

May 10, 2010 at 9:05 AM | by JetSetCD | 0 Comments

Who's ready to hang out with some hot Aussies onboard Virgin America? No, the still-rather-new domestic airline isn't flying over the Pacific yet, but instead bringing some of their fellow Virgins into a crew-exchange program, whereby Virgin Blue flight attendants can come work the friendly US skies while their Virgin America colleagues similarly head down to Oz.

The program mirrors one already in place between Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Blue, and the girls will be based in San Francisco, but flying throughout Virgin America's route network for one solid year. While the Americans do the same on Virgin Blue, the Aussie FAs will act as cultural ambassadors, making use of their alluring accents and enthusiasm for Australia to subliminally get you thinking about a trip to Oz. It's like a "walking, talking mini tourism campaign being waged across the skies of both countries," says Director of People for Virgin America, Christine Morehead.

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Alaska Airlines, JetBlue and Allegiant All Bringing New Routes Into the Mix

May 7, 2010 at 1:40 PM | by kjb | 2 Comments

Sometimes it’s hard to stay on top of all the new route announcements that come our way, so we’ve complied a little bit of a rundown below. Hopefully some of these new flights will help in your pursuit of a summer vacation, but if not, there are some few warm spots to visit when the weather starts to get cooler as well.

· Idaho is the latest state to receive some cheap flights from Allegiant Air. The low cost carrier recently announced flights from Twin Falls, Idaho and Idaho Falls, Idaho to Los Angeles and Las Vegas. Flights are scheduled to start in June, but just keep an eye out on the schedules as the flights are only happening on certain days during week. Those in Twin Falls can head to Vegas on Monday and Friday nights. If you're leaving from Idaho Falls with Hollywood on the brain, those flights leave on Thursday and Sunday afternoons. Some introductory fares were as low as $9.99 each way, so expect some great fares to pop up again in the future.

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