Sir Richard Branson is promising a new era in US air travel with cheaper fares and a better all-round flying experience. Photo / Reuters
Sir Richard Branson is promising a new era in US air travel with cheaper fares and a better all-round flying experience. Photo / Reuters
KEY POINTS:
Sir Richard Branson joined the inaugural flight of Virgin America from New York's JFK airport yesterday, promising a new kind of low-cost airline that would alleviate some of the misery of air travel in the United States - but, as ever, bad weather disrupted the best-laid plans.
Rainand flash floods prevented many celebrities and airline executives from reaching the carefully choreographed launch party and a planned question-and-answer session with the media had to be abandoned after Fred Reid, the airline's chief executive, failed to arrive.
In the end, the first Virgin America flight finally took to the skies only a little late - unless you count more than three years of planning and regulatory delays, during which Sir Richard has had to give up a large degree of control over the project to satisfy national ownership rules.
At every turn, the existing domestic carriers have lobbied hard against the airline, saying it was effectively controlled by the Virgin Group in Britain, from whom it has licensed the ubiquitous brand name. Virgin holds a minority stake.
Sir Richard promised that Virgin America would one day be flying out of every major US city.
"The major carriers have fought to try to smother Virgin America at birth but I'm delighted to say it wasn't for smothering."
Sir Richard is pushing the Virgin brand into one of the toughest marketplaces in the world, where existing carriers seemingly rotate in and out of bankruptcy and where service standards have been cut to the bone to offer low fares. It is aiming to emulate the success of JetBlue, the last major low-cost carrier to launch, seven years ago, which also emphasises its customer service credentials. Virgin America intends offering a better service and fares as low as US$139 ($181) for the trip from New York to San Francisco.
