Virgin America Orders Up Like a Gazillion More Planes !!!

If you follow me around often you know how I love flying Virgin America when I have that option.  I am particularly fond of the the LAX to FLL run and all up and down the West Coast !!!  (Thank you Virgin !)

Although I do wish they would take a later exit time out of Fort Lauderdale for those of us disembarking ships THIS is really great news!  

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. 

So where will Virgin America's shiny new A320s be flying? Well, the airline still has at least another year to decide that, but a larger fleet obviously means increased destinations, and we're still pulling for a Chicago route. We see the potential for more Canada and Mexico routes, since their hype with the Toronto launch and upcoming Cabo San Lucas/Cancun routes seem to be doing well. Perhaps New York will get more options, or—hold your breath—they'll start flying to Austin? 

Where do you want to see Virgin America flying?

My Virgin America Experience LAX to FLL for as low as $109 each way!

This is where I spent my day today.  A very pleasant experience in the air, I must say.

Everything moved fairly seamlessly including boarding and disembarking.   I enjoyed the lighting and the ambiance of the cabin.  It felt very contemporary and modern not like an economy motel like so many of the planes feel like these days.  The seats were comfy with noticeable extra leg room and it felt a little bit wider than my most recent flight on Continental.



I love the in the seat entertainment plus helpful and fun assistant built into the

seat-backs.  You could order from a selection of imaginative and healthy menu items, top shelf and trendy cocktails, headphones, ask your cabin steward for water or a coke, (free), even donate to a couple of charities if it strikes your fancy!  See the Google map on the left?  Hit the navigation menu and track your flight live!  There are games for the kids as well and if you are traveling with others in different seats you can IM them and chat from your seat with you buddy or a stranger a few rows up.  Could be fun if you are flying with a group!

The nice thing about being able to just click water on the touch screen is that you don't have to reach up over the person sitting next to you that you don't know or feel like climbing on top of to reach the dingy button that rings and annoys everyone and 45 min later the perturbed attendant asks you what the heck you want while they reach over the aisle person and now EVERY one is annoyed and your feel like a schmuck.. Geez, all you wanted was some water!  On Virgin you just discretely push the touch button while watching your movie and a cute, nice man happily appears with your water, fresh fruit with cheese, whatever you need!  Voila !!!

AND, they only block the aisle with a cart once during the entire non-stop flight.

Google is offering free Wi-Fi for the holidays and it is fun to connect while in the sky....There are plugs in the seats as well as the fancy remotes you see above.

So, my flight was excellent.  Jumped into a white town car with Natalie from JLT Tours in FT Lauderdale.  I am meeting her and trying her service out to see if she is someone I will recommend to you.  The plan is she is picking me up from the ship to take me to Miami on the end of the trip so I will fill you in later.  I will organize all recommendations with links and phone #'s etc later for you all.  So far, Natalie is great!  ***** stars!

Pre-cruise I am staying at the Embassy Suites, FLL across from the port so that I can see the beautiful Oasis of the Seas when I wake up from my room...

I will most likely be Tweeting as I go along tomorrow so even if you don't officially *TWEET*   you can easily follow me that way.  Just create an account with Twitter  and add me as your friend  or in twitter language *follow me*   @RealCruises      That's it.

See you from the Ship tomorrow!