Having recently taken a flight to MN with NWA and being an avid traveler, I can say with some authority that Virgin America runs a comfortable ship. Our trip started with a personal greeting from one of our flight attendants who made rounds of the lounge introducing herself and shaking hands. Although not a terribly meaningful gesture for a 5.5 hour flight of hundreds of people, it was still a nice touch.

Once aboard, we settled into leather seats that not only gave the plane a classier feel, but also left me less concerned about the potential for nastiness one may encounter in an upholstered seat recently inhabited by a stranger for hours. I haven’t done research into the hypo-allergenic nature of leather, but after having spent five hours vomiting during a previous flight, I can safely assume I’m more “protected” in something that can feasibly be wiped clean.

As soon as we’re seated, Dave pulls a remote out of the arm of his seat and goes to town. TV, movies, games and inter-planetary (as in within the plane) chat are all available, not after we’re in the air, but immediately. Their entertainment system, Red, does have a few bugs to work out (games freeze frequently, for example) but I assume these are the growing pains of a new airline and hopefully they’ll be worked out soon. Chat did not yet seem to be a popular feature and I would venture to guess that it won’t soon be, considering the lack of anonymity. Although, I believe the seat to seat chat will be a delight to the stalker-types.

Honestly, this was probably the first time I’ve actually listened to the safety instructions attentively and in their entirety.

One of the highlights of the flight was the ability to order beverages and food on demand. By exploring the food menu on the screen in front of us we were able to see a food and drink menu with pictures and prices, choose what we’d like and swipe our credit card in the slot right under the screen. We got a turkey wrap for $9, which was decent for airplane food. Actually, if I were a fan of wraps I might even say it was pretty good in general. The non-alcoholic beverages, of course, are free.

Not bad for the cheapest flight available. Have any of you had the chance to fly Virgin America yet? What was your experience like?