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Filed under Design on July 23, 2008 by Jess Eddy

Flying Virgin America

I recently flew to L.A. We all know ticket prices are at an all time high and the standards for service in general are very low, so with this in mind, I was extremely delighted to find a reasonably priced ticket on Virgin America Airlines, which is considered a “premiere airline.” I'd never flown Virgin before so I was very excited.

Online Experience

My first discovery was the great interactive experience on their Website. This informative site outlines all the cool perks that Virgin provides--like mood lighting and plug-in ports for all your little gadgets including a laptop. I’d been scrambling to find a way to charge my computer on the plane and had even considered buying an extra battery until I found this out. Problem solved.

Check-In

Checking myself in was a breeze--a true sign of a good user experience. Unlike the large kiosks you usually find for self check-in, Virgin has a table with four sleek touch screen monitors. The interface for this process is great—it’s nice to look, easy to use, and very quick. Checking in is a five-step process and there's a nice little indicator of this on the screen so you know where you are in the process at all times. As my ticket is being processed, the interface communicates the current time and indicates that I have 40 minutes left until boarding. Thank you interface! My boarding pass then prints and is spit out through a tiny slit that is integrated into the table itself, which is very cool. Additionally, it’s the smallest pass I've ever seen and yet it still contains all the necessary information. No folding required—it’s no larger than my wallet, so I just slip it into my back pocket.

The Plane

Now the fun really begins. As I walk into the plane, I can see the mood lighting and it's a little like walking into a nightclub. There's jazzy-techno music playing, which in a restaurant wouldn’t be cool, but in this case, on this plane, it is very much cool. The seats look like expensive, converted executive office chairs from the front and iMacs from the back. They are very comfortable!

In Flight Experience

I find my seat and sit down. In front of me is my very own touch screen monitor, which is actually a media center, called "Red." Red is Virgin's interactive environment and it's in Beta. Like the self check-in interface, Red's interface is also a great experience and has a ton of options. I can watch TV, multi-lingual TV, music videos, premium television (episodes of 30 Rock, Dexter, etc.) and movies (which you have to pay for), and even a section just for kids. Between boarding and taking off, I made an entire playlist and didn't take out my iPod even once during the flight. You can also play games and chat with other people on the plane through an instant messaging system! The remotes accommodate for this perfectly with their three main facets: one side for traditional controls like volume adjustments and channel changing, and the other for gaming and texting, along with an integrated credit card reader which I used to pay (Virgin is a cashless airline) for my yogurt parfait. Meals are not served on the plane, but you can order food, snacks and beverages from your seat using Red, along with all the free items like coffee, juice and soda, etc. Ordering anything with Red is like building an order on Amazon: you shop, compile, checkout, and pay (or not pay, if ordering free items).

Google Maps is also integrated into Red so you can always see your location (Missouri), as well as air speed (514 mph), distance to go until you reach your location (1,415 miles), altitude (36,163), and outside temperature (-51 degrees Fahrenheit). Communication on the plane is great and the in-flight introduction is done through the interface by a very entertaining, illustrated video. There were no awkward live demonstrations of how to apply an oxygen mask and I actually paid attention.

Virgin is definitely doing something right and it's hard to believe other airlines haven't caught on yet. The utilization and emphasis Virgin puts on design and technology is awesome. Granted, the novelty might wear off if you're a frequent customer, but it sure makes downgrading to another airline an ugly thought!

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