VX775 SFO-LAS 8July 2008
Posted: 26 Jul 2008, 00:25Once there I quickly learned there are no passengers on VX. We are all guests. [:D] In the gate area two flights were waiting to use gate 11, one to LAX and ours to LAS and I soon noticed that there were indeed two doorways. Almost immediately after my arrival in the area we were receiving updates as to the approximate time of boarding while across the hall a very enthusiastic gate agent was sending off a plane to JFK. He was exhorting guests to come and see Doug and Ill send you on your way to JFK and announced that Doug was now ready to have guests board the plane. As the flight was closing Doug was hoping that X, Y and Z would come and see him real quickly otherwise he wouldnt be able to let them go to JFK. I never did find out if they made it as obviously once the flight closed Dougs voice was silenced somewhat thankfully it must be said. [:w] Shortly after that they boarded the LAX flight and then almost immediately after, the LAS flight.
The A320 was very reminiscent of Virgin Atlantic A346s with its mood lighting. I was surprised that the window blinds were down but even more surprised that there was no request to raise them either during take-off and landing. I had booked a Premium seat in row 3A and the leg room was very generous. First Class was full and separated from us in the cheaper seats by a purple Perspex shield. Actually the whole flight was full which was re-assuring in these difficult times for airlines especially new ones. Because row 3 was a bulkhead I had to stow everything in the overhead locker which wasnt a problem as I like to surround myself with the things I think Ill need during a flight. Incidentally it was an all-male crew who were friendly and utterly professional yet obviously very proud of their airline yet fun and funky. They reminded me of the early days of Virgin Atlantic.
I loved the safety video, especially the bit if you are the 0.0001% of the population who does not know how to fasten a safety belt... I mean, lets face it, in any airline by the time the crew are doing that bit in the safety demo they have already ensured that everyone is securely strapped and virtually immobile!
The plane pushed back on time and we hadnt far to go to the runway but there was a fair bit of traffic. Incidentally on the way out I saw a VX plane called Tubular Belle pity its namesake wasnt there also. However I dont think we were too long waiting for take-off and we certainly werent late into LAS. For a time we flew over the smog created by the forest fires but once past them I began to enjoy the different scenery. The crew served a soft drinks round and alcohol and snacks were available to purchase through the in-flight entertainment system. I didnt bother apart from water as tiredness was beginning to creep up on me once more to the extent that when we hit turbulence crossing the mountains on the approach to LAS I started to feel distinctly nauseous. [:$] Fortunately it passed and soon I was on the ground after one of the most satisfactory internal flights I had taken in America.
Once on the ground we had to make our way from the D gates to baggage claim where we waited over 30 minutes for the bags to come through. Eventually they did and soon I was in a taxi on my way to my reservation in THEhotel at Mandalay Bay. On the way there the taxi driver asked where I was from and I told him Ireland. He was a delightful gentleman who I suspect was North African/Eastern Mediterranean origin and when I had replied he looked puzzled.
Taxi driver: Which airline did you use?
Me: Virgin America
Taxi driver: Ze British and Irish, zey come on Virgin airline. Ees vairy good airline. You didnt use it?
I understood his quandary. Virgin Atlantic had long since come and gone from LAS but here was this person from Ireland and he couldnt fathom how she had got here on an internal flight when there was a perfectly good airline flying in direct. I assured him it WAS a very good airline and that I had flown it into San Francisco and thence to LAS on Virgin America and with that he was satisfied.
Finally we arrived at THEhotel at which point the travel gods rewarded my forbearance with the trials and tribulations of the last 36 hours and I was awarded an upgrade to a suite. Pity it was somewhat wasted on me.[:D]