Virgin America to Launch SFO to Dallas Service

Today Virgin America announced yet another city to their growing list of destinations they fly. Beginning December 6th, the airline will begin twice-daily nonstop flights between San Francisco and Dallas, Texas. Dallas is the 12th confirmed city the airline will operate in. Future plans include expansion into leisure markets within Mexico. www.virginamerica.com

Virgin America to Launch San Francisco to Orlando, Toronto

Hot off the press is word Virgin America plans to launch daily service between San Francisco and Orlando, Florida beginning August 19th. In a statement, the airline also announced plans to start a Los Angeles to Orlando flight as well. The new service effectively allows passengers from other Virgin America west coast cities (San Diego and Seattle) to connect in SFO enroute to Orlando.

The airline also said service planned between SFO and Toronto is pending government approval, but is tentatively set for launch in June 2010.

In a bit of unfortunate news, the airline reports it will end service to Orange County airport effective May 26th.

SFO-Fort Lauderdale $99 Each Way

Virgin America begins service to sunny Fort Lauderdale is just a few days. To celebrate, they are offering $99 introductory one-way fares ($198 round-trip) from the West Coast. Purchase by November 30th, for travel November 18 to December 16, and January 6 to February 10, 2010. 3-day advance purchase required.

Virgin America to Launch Fort Lauderdale Flights

In a press release today, San Francisco-based Virgin America accounced plans to begin nonstop flights between the West Coast and Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood Interantional Airport. The airline says it will offer two daily flights each from San Francisco and Los Angeles beginning November 18, 2009. Fort Lauderdale marks the 10th destination in Virgin America's growing network.

"The South Florida market has always been at the top of our list. It is a world-class destination and an important tourism and business travel market that, until today, was served by little or no nonstop competition from the West Coast," said Virgin America President and CEO David Cush.

Tickets are now available for purchase at virginamerica.com. Introductory fares begin at just $99 each way in the Main Cabin.

Virgin America Flights to San Diego $29 Each Way

Whoa nelly! Virgin America just dropped last minute fares to/from San Francisco and San Diego to just $29 each way for travel through May 20th. Wanna leave tomorrow? No problem! There are also $29 seats to/from LAX, but availability seems to be a bit more scarce. Hurry, these fares won't last. Visit www.virginamerica.com  and search availability with their handy weekly fare calendar.

Virgin America Follows Trend to Charge for Checked Baggage

Virgin America finally joined with most of the other carriers in charging a fee for a single piece of checked luggage. According to their website, passengers who book travel commencing after May 4, 2009 will be subject to a first bag fee of $15. Previously there was no charge to check one bag.  

The first bag fee does not apply to passengers flying first class or main cabin select, or those who purchased a fully refundable economy class ticket. 

When oil prices surged last year, many of the mainline carriers began instituting fees for all checked bags. Oil prices dropped, but the fees never went away. The move by Virgin America reflects the current norm for airlines to charge fees for checked bags.

Fares Drop To Orange County Ahead of Southwest & Virgin Service

By Mike Grasso

Last night, American and United Airlines dropped airfare between San Francisco and Orange County/John Wayne Airport. Both carriers now charge just $139 roundtrip "all in" (including taxes and fees), for travel between April 30 and June 10, 2009. Historically fares on this route averaged over $200 because United and American had a stronghold on this market, as the sole airlines operating flights between the two cities.

Why the sudden drop in fares? 10 new daily flights down to Orange County.

Come April 30th, Virgin America will intensify competition by operating five daily flights between SFO and Orange County. Then, Southwest starts service between the two cities on May 9th, also operating five times each day. Passenger capacity (available seats) on the ten new daily departures will increase significantly as well since both Virgin America and Southwest operate mainline aircraft which carry at least 120 passengers on each flight.

To compare, American flies smaller 44-seat regional jets and United uses a mixture of mainline and regional aircraft between the two cities. The total number of available seats will climb sharply just in time for the Summer, and with demand for air travel easing, airlines have no choice but to cut airfares.

So now is a great time to start planning that family vacation to Sunny Southern California and Disneyland. Click any of the travel search engines on the left column to begin your airfare search.

JetBlue Reconnects San Francisco to Boston May 1st

JetBlue recently announced it will return flights, at least for the Summer, between San Francisco and Boston-Logan beginning May 1, 2009. One daily flight will be offered between the two cities. The airline also operates daily nonstops from Oakland International.

Earlier this month, Virgin America said it plans to start twice-daily service between SFO and Boston effective February 12th.

Virgin America's Newest Destination: Boston

In a press release today, Virgin America announced it will begin flights from the West Coast to Boston-Logan beginning February 12th.

Boston represents the eighth city in Virgin America's growing network.

The announcement comes just after Virgin announced it was suspending plans to expand into Chicago O'Hare, after failing to secure gate space.

"We'd been talking to Logan since the beginning of operations in August," David Cush, President and CEO of Virgin America said in the press release. "But things really heated up last week. We had some planes coming in, and we wanted to be able to put them in operation. So when it came time to look at pulling the plug on Chicago, we got in touch with the people at Logan, and they were able to work out a nice offer of arrangements for us."

Virgin is planning two daily flights between San Francisco and Boston, three from LAX. Tickets are now on sale at the airlines website, www.virginamerica.com.

Midweek Round Up Of Airfares

Thanks to a significant drop in the price of crude oil, many airlines recently announced a drop in fuel surcharges. These charges were choking the price of an airline ticket adding $50-$250 to the price of a round trip flight. Delta, American, United, Air France and Virgin Atlantic all announced cuts in fuel surcharges. Other airlines are maintaining the heavy fee citing unpredictable short term charges in the cost of oil.

Now may be the time to capitalize on recent drops in fuel surcharges, and discounts on some routes. Here is a roundup of fares from Wednesday morning. All prices below are round trip and include all taxes and fees. Most travel dates valid through Fall 2008, some longer.

San Francisco to:
Long Beach $118 (JetBlue/B9)
Seattle $149 (Virgin America/VX and Alaska/AS)
San Diego $118 (Virgin America/VX)
San Jose, CR $513 (Continental/CO))
San Juan, PR $304 (U.S Airways/US)

Sacramento to:
Berlin , DE $765 (United/UA and Continental/CO)
Cabo San Lucas $329 (United/UA)

Santa Rosa to:
Las Vegas $179 (Horizon/QX)

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Virgin America Offers 'Absurdly Simply' Visa Signature Card

San Francisco-based Virgin America announced the launch of a co-branded Visa Signature card. Underwritten by Barclays US, the "Absurdly Simple" card offers guests premium services, rewards, and amenities - with no annual fee.

Customers will earn 2,500 Elevate bonus points after the first purchase, triple points on Virgin America purchases, and one point per dollar spent on everyday purchases. Additional bonuses are available on card membership anniversaries and for balance transfers.

According to the Virgin America site, card members who apply by November 30, 2008 and use the card by January 31, 2009, will receive a free one-way flight on Virgin America. And, if that was not enough to get you excited, a bonus 1,000 Elevate points are available if you pre-register for the promotion and opt to get the card.

Overall, I would recommend this card to others. In addition to the built in Visa Signature benefits, the free one-way trip, the first-use bonus points and other methods of point accrual all make this a fairly generous card to consider. Do take note that according to the t&c's, although there are no blackout dates with the free one-way ticket, it's not clear if it is capacity controlled; that is, whether you are allowed any open seat, or if the airline will limit the number of free seats on a flight.

Entourage Air! Live It Sweepstakes

Enter to win four First class tickets on Virgin America, two nights of luxury accommodations and the Palm Casino - Las Vegas, and $5,000 bucks, in the Entourage Air! Live It Sweepstakes.
25 other winning entries will receive gifts from Kiehl's and Godiva. Sweeps close October 1, 2008. Click here to enter and read t&c's.

Virgin America Introduces 'Main Cabin Select' Service

San Francisco-based Virgin America announced today an option called, "Main Cabin Select,"whereby coach-class passengers can buy up to receive an enhanced in-flight experience. MCS, which will be available on flights beginning on October, includes coach-class seats configured with 38" seat pitch (6 inches more than a typical seat), dedicated overhead bin space, complimentary food and cocktails, and an all-access pass to the Red In-inflight entertainment system.

From a service standpoint, Main Cabin Select is situated between First and Coach class, although MCS amenities sound closer to a first class product. MCS will be available for purchase starting September 15, 2008, for flights beginning from mid-October 2008 on. No word yet on the price tag for passengers seeking MCS.

SFO's Old International Terminal To Fly Again

As we reported back in December, the old International terminal at SFO, known now as terminal 2 will be remodeled and put back into use in order to meet the demand for future travel.

This week the Chronicle reported that Virgin America is a confirmed tenant for the terminal which is expected to re-open in 2010. With the remodel, 14 gates will be available, which may prompt other carriers to switch to terminal 2 as well.
Read more plans about the remodel from sfgate.

San Francisco to Las Vegas $97 RT/ taxes included

Virgin America is currently offering a $96.50 roundtrip - taxes included fare from S.F to Vegas. Travel is valid 7 days a week, through June 11th. visit http://www.virginamerica.com/

Virgin America takes to the streets of San Francisco

To celebrate Valentines Day and show their love for SF, Virgin America Team will be on the streets of San Francisco Thursday passing out T-shirts and travel discounts. Find them between 1130am-130pm at Union Square, Washington Square Park, Justin Herman Plaza, the Ferry Building, Embarcadero BART Station, Civic Center, and on Market Street at the intersections of Montgomery, 4th, and Castro Streets.

Regular travelers to Seattle will appreciate Alaska Airlines latest promotion: Earn double MileagePlan miles for flights to/from San Francisco and Seattle for the rest of the year. This is a qualifying promotion whereby you need to fly this route twice prior to being eligible for this promotion. Details here. This offer is likely in response to competitor Virgin America, who announced service into Seattle will begin in March.

San Francisco - San Diego $99 roundtrip, taxes included. Virgin America.
Valid 7 days a week, through May 21st. Visit www.virginamerica.com to book. Most other carriers currently running $25 or more for this route.

Virgin America begins Seattle flights in March

Virgin America announced today that flights will commence from San Francisco to Seattle beginning March 18, 2008. This will mark the 7th city Virgin America provides air service, including San Diego which begins in February. 3 daily departures are currently scheduled.

Visit http://www.virginamerica.com/ for more information.

HOT deal! 25% off your next Virgin America flight.
Book book before December 7, 2007 for travel through March 19, 2008. Click on the Redeem button or enter this promo code when you book your travel online at http://www.virginamerica.com/: ELEVATE25