Seattle Trip - Part 2
Photos from Seattle
This is the group dinner after dessert and two bottles of Francis Ford Coppola Diamond Collection Pinot Noir wine. Great wine will help make any group happy I think.
I was very happy with the chocolate ice cream with small chips of chocolate in it.
I also had a healthy salad to start my dinner. I didn’t only eat food that was bad for me.
Virgin America Airlines – Fly Now Before It Flies Off Into The Sunset
I flew on Virgin America Airlines to Seattle and back. It is a new airline and I wanted to see how it compared to a great airline like Continental Airlines. As its name implies, it was developed by Sir Richard Branson and incorporates some of the Virgin Atlantic business practices; for example, passengers are called “guests” and the lead flight attendant is called the “host.”
Cute title and names do not make a great airline.
My flight on Saturday was the first flight of the day so I knew my plane would be on time. It was. The Sunday return flight was the turn around from the first flight of the day so I knew it was likely to be on time since there were no adverse weather patterns along the Pacific Coast. It, too, was on time.
I cracked open my wallet to fly first class. I felt I deserved the treat.
I should have rethought that decision.
On my Saturday flight, either the powered foot rest was broken or incredibly slow to extend. This was not what I would have expected on a nearly brand new aircraft. That maintenance could be deferred since it has nothing to do with the airworthiness of the aircraft.
The “host Mezz” announced that the flight was a training flight for new flight attendants. There would be two in first class and five in the back of the plane. Trainees are almost always less efficient than a fully trained crew.
The early morning flight was on the less than half full side in the back of the plane so service was going to be good there. First class was full, but full is only eight passengers in first class so service was likely to be average.
Still, the “cabin team members” managed to disappoint me.
Mia the Trainee asked me if I would like a drink. I said I would like a Bloody Mary with a lime. On a Continental Airlines flight, this would have been a really routine order. Continental flight attendants would have been set up for a bar service in first class before the first passenger boarded the aircraft.
After nearly ten minutes of floundering around, trying to get things set up properly and my Bloody Mary, the “team members” finally managed to make my drink.
I like to drink my alcoholic drinks slowly so I can enjoy them more. I used to be able to chug a drink but that was when I was I college and the Navy after graduation. When they brought me the drink, I did a quick calculation and determined that it was highly unlikely I would be able to finish the drink in an orderly before the “team members” would be around to take my drink away so the plane could take off on time.
Virgin America has another annoying practice from my point of view. The airline likes to have Captain Sketter or First Officer Billy Bob come out of the cockpit and introduce themselves to the passengers. I would have felt a whole lot better if they were in the cockpit, going over pre-flight checklists and route weather reports.
The pilots on Virgin America are all young or so they seemed that way to me. I feel much better flying on a plane whose captain has some gray hair. I just like all of that extra experience when I fly.
Do you like experience too?
The meal service was on the unusual side, even for a first class flight. We had a choice of a three cheese quiche or a sausage and egg on a muffin. I took the sausage and egg entre.
Besides, real men don’t eat quiche.
We had a choice of appetizers along with the main course. None of the appetizers included any fresh fruit that would have made sense for a breakfast time flight. I selected one with three small pieces of cheese and three half grapes.
Frankly, I’ve had much better Sausage McMuffins from the Golden Arches compared to what the airline served me. It was on the bland side and the only condiments were salt and pepper. If you wanted to make the airline sausage and egg on a muffin tastier, you needed something much stronger.
When I served with the United States Marine Corps Reserve, I learned that a large enough quantity of Louisiana Hot Sauce will generally make any meal taste better. Regrettably, I had no Louisiana Hot Sauce with me.
So much for the flight to Seattle.
The Sunday flight was better. First class was only half full, just four passengers. The back of the plane was fuller. The “team members” were more organized and professional about their jobs. The “host” was able to get my Bloody Mary out to me well before the aircraft pushed back from the gate so I was able to enjoy the drink.
The meal was another bizarre one for me; either that or I just have really sensitive food tastes. We had a choice of duck comfit or cheese ravioli. I went for the cheese ravioli that came with a nice pesto sauce. The appetizer choices consisted on some bland Thai noodles or some spicy ham slices that weren’t all the spicy to me anyway.
I don’t think this airline is going to be around for a long time. The flight crews looked like they were just going through the motions. Maybe I am unfair to compare Virgin America to Continental Airlines. I still think the comparison makes sense.
The Continental flight crews had a sense of commitment and desire to win and succeed at a time when the airline was on the edge of its last trip to Bankruptcy Court. I can remember one flight on an aircraft that was well past some major overhaul work on the cabin. Some of the overhead storage bins popped open as the plane landed because of improperly working latches. A couple of the bins were tapped closed with duct tape because the latches were broken. In spite of all of this adversity, the crew was confident and positive.
I saw none of that on my flights; especially the Saturday flight where almost all of the flight attendants gathered in first class so they wouldn’t be bothered by the passengers.
I have read Gordon Bethune’s book on how he and his team took Continental Airlines from worst to first. I even have an autographed copy of the book. Bethune was Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the airline at the time. I have even had personal conversations with Bethune about how the airline turned around.
I know that you can successful run an airline profitably in the current chaotic market. Continental still provides a free snack meal in Coach Class on all of its longer haul domestic flights, something no other major domestic air carrier does.
New planes and catchy buzz phrases do not make a successful airline. I don’t think this message has gotten down to the people who will have to implement the strategy.
I think the Virgin America strategy, as far as I can see it, is dubious at best. The airline wants to be a premium, low cost carrier. This is a close to non-starter in my mind. In this case, except for the eight seats in first class, Virgin America is no different than Jet Blue. Southwest, the discount juggernaut, is improving its business model to include more non-stop flights.
Virgin America flies mostly up and down the West Coast and from the West Coast to New York. It competes head on with the established regional carrier, Alaska Airlines, and the majors like United Airlines, Delta Airlines, and Southwest Airlines on the West Coast routes. With a much smaller fleet, Virgin America can not offer the frequency of an Alaska Airlines or Southwest.
Virgin America must compete with all of the major carriers and Southwest and Jet Blue when it flies to New York.
As I look at the apparent strategy, it seems to me that Virgin America is trying to fly in a very small niche of luxury discount service and compete on a basis of price. I think the only factor that Virgin America has as an advantage is that none of its competitors is going to engage in a price war while jet fuel is over USD$3.00 a gallon.
One more thing that Virgin America needs to do is train its flight crews to not lie to passengers. The “host” on my Saturday flight did that with me and that is just intolerable and unacceptable.
I told him that I was going to write a letter to complain about the crummy service. I also told that I would write about my crummy experience in the blog that gets read by a lot of people because airlines usually just ignore passenger comments. There must be a really ginormous recycle bin of customer complaint letters.
The “host” said Virgin America really cared about customer comments and that he would give me the address to send my letter. He only had ninety minutes to do this and he failed miserably. Mia the Trainee could have easily covered the first class passengers since it was just food tray pickup left to do. The “host” said, more than once, that he would get me the address.
What was the end result of lying to me and failing to follow up on a passenger commitment?
Instead of a handful of Virgin America employees who would have read my letter, now, over a thousand readers of the blog will have learned about my experience.
As for me, the next flight to see the Princess and the Golfer and the rest of the family in Seattle will not be on Virgin America.
Be well and stay happy.
This is the group dinner after dessert and two bottles of Francis Ford Coppola Diamond Collection Pinot Noir wine. Great wine will help make any group happy I think.
I was very happy with the chocolate ice cream with small chips of chocolate in it.
I also had a healthy salad to start my dinner. I didn’t only eat food that was bad for me.
Virgin America Airlines – Fly Now Before It Flies Off Into The Sunset
I flew on Virgin America Airlines to Seattle and back. It is a new airline and I wanted to see how it compared to a great airline like Continental Airlines. As its name implies, it was developed by Sir Richard Branson and incorporates some of the Virgin Atlantic business practices; for example, passengers are called “guests” and the lead flight attendant is called the “host.”
Cute title and names do not make a great airline.
My flight on Saturday was the first flight of the day so I knew my plane would be on time. It was. The Sunday return flight was the turn around from the first flight of the day so I knew it was likely to be on time since there were no adverse weather patterns along the Pacific Coast. It, too, was on time.
I cracked open my wallet to fly first class. I felt I deserved the treat.
I should have rethought that decision.
On my Saturday flight, either the powered foot rest was broken or incredibly slow to extend. This was not what I would have expected on a nearly brand new aircraft. That maintenance could be deferred since it has nothing to do with the airworthiness of the aircraft.
The “host Mezz” announced that the flight was a training flight for new flight attendants. There would be two in first class and five in the back of the plane. Trainees are almost always less efficient than a fully trained crew.
The early morning flight was on the less than half full side in the back of the plane so service was going to be good there. First class was full, but full is only eight passengers in first class so service was likely to be average.
Still, the “cabin team members” managed to disappoint me.
Mia the Trainee asked me if I would like a drink. I said I would like a Bloody Mary with a lime. On a Continental Airlines flight, this would have been a really routine order. Continental flight attendants would have been set up for a bar service in first class before the first passenger boarded the aircraft.
After nearly ten minutes of floundering around, trying to get things set up properly and my Bloody Mary, the “team members” finally managed to make my drink.
I like to drink my alcoholic drinks slowly so I can enjoy them more. I used to be able to chug a drink but that was when I was I college and the Navy after graduation. When they brought me the drink, I did a quick calculation and determined that it was highly unlikely I would be able to finish the drink in an orderly before the “team members” would be around to take my drink away so the plane could take off on time.
Virgin America has another annoying practice from my point of view. The airline likes to have Captain Sketter or First Officer Billy Bob come out of the cockpit and introduce themselves to the passengers. I would have felt a whole lot better if they were in the cockpit, going over pre-flight checklists and route weather reports.
The pilots on Virgin America are all young or so they seemed that way to me. I feel much better flying on a plane whose captain has some gray hair. I just like all of that extra experience when I fly.
Do you like experience too?
The meal service was on the unusual side, even for a first class flight. We had a choice of a three cheese quiche or a sausage and egg on a muffin. I took the sausage and egg entre.
Besides, real men don’t eat quiche.
We had a choice of appetizers along with the main course. None of the appetizers included any fresh fruit that would have made sense for a breakfast time flight. I selected one with three small pieces of cheese and three half grapes.
Frankly, I’ve had much better Sausage McMuffins from the Golden Arches compared to what the airline served me. It was on the bland side and the only condiments were salt and pepper. If you wanted to make the airline sausage and egg on a muffin tastier, you needed something much stronger.
When I served with the United States Marine Corps Reserve, I learned that a large enough quantity of Louisiana Hot Sauce will generally make any meal taste better. Regrettably, I had no Louisiana Hot Sauce with me.
So much for the flight to Seattle.
The Sunday flight was better. First class was only half full, just four passengers. The back of the plane was fuller. The “team members” were more organized and professional about their jobs. The “host” was able to get my Bloody Mary out to me well before the aircraft pushed back from the gate so I was able to enjoy the drink.
The meal was another bizarre one for me; either that or I just have really sensitive food tastes. We had a choice of duck comfit or cheese ravioli. I went for the cheese ravioli that came with a nice pesto sauce. The appetizer choices consisted on some bland Thai noodles or some spicy ham slices that weren’t all the spicy to me anyway.
I don’t think this airline is going to be around for a long time. The flight crews looked like they were just going through the motions. Maybe I am unfair to compare Virgin America to Continental Airlines. I still think the comparison makes sense.
The Continental flight crews had a sense of commitment and desire to win and succeed at a time when the airline was on the edge of its last trip to Bankruptcy Court. I can remember one flight on an aircraft that was well past some major overhaul work on the cabin. Some of the overhead storage bins popped open as the plane landed because of improperly working latches. A couple of the bins were tapped closed with duct tape because the latches were broken. In spite of all of this adversity, the crew was confident and positive.
I saw none of that on my flights; especially the Saturday flight where almost all of the flight attendants gathered in first class so they wouldn’t be bothered by the passengers.
I have read Gordon Bethune’s book on how he and his team took Continental Airlines from worst to first. I even have an autographed copy of the book. Bethune was Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the airline at the time. I have even had personal conversations with Bethune about how the airline turned around.
I know that you can successful run an airline profitably in the current chaotic market. Continental still provides a free snack meal in Coach Class on all of its longer haul domestic flights, something no other major domestic air carrier does.
New planes and catchy buzz phrases do not make a successful airline. I don’t think this message has gotten down to the people who will have to implement the strategy.
I think the Virgin America strategy, as far as I can see it, is dubious at best. The airline wants to be a premium, low cost carrier. This is a close to non-starter in my mind. In this case, except for the eight seats in first class, Virgin America is no different than Jet Blue. Southwest, the discount juggernaut, is improving its business model to include more non-stop flights.
Virgin America flies mostly up and down the West Coast and from the West Coast to New York. It competes head on with the established regional carrier, Alaska Airlines, and the majors like United Airlines, Delta Airlines, and Southwest Airlines on the West Coast routes. With a much smaller fleet, Virgin America can not offer the frequency of an Alaska Airlines or Southwest.
Virgin America must compete with all of the major carriers and Southwest and Jet Blue when it flies to New York.
As I look at the apparent strategy, it seems to me that Virgin America is trying to fly in a very small niche of luxury discount service and compete on a basis of price. I think the only factor that Virgin America has as an advantage is that none of its competitors is going to engage in a price war while jet fuel is over USD$3.00 a gallon.
One more thing that Virgin America needs to do is train its flight crews to not lie to passengers. The “host” on my Saturday flight did that with me and that is just intolerable and unacceptable.
I told him that I was going to write a letter to complain about the crummy service. I also told that I would write about my crummy experience in the blog that gets read by a lot of people because airlines usually just ignore passenger comments. There must be a really ginormous recycle bin of customer complaint letters.
The “host” said Virgin America really cared about customer comments and that he would give me the address to send my letter. He only had ninety minutes to do this and he failed miserably. Mia the Trainee could have easily covered the first class passengers since it was just food tray pickup left to do. The “host” said, more than once, that he would get me the address.
What was the end result of lying to me and failing to follow up on a passenger commitment?
Instead of a handful of Virgin America employees who would have read my letter, now, over a thousand readers of the blog will have learned about my experience.
As for me, the next flight to see the Princess and the Golfer and the rest of the family in Seattle will not be on Virgin America.
Be well and stay happy.
posted by Chuck Reinhardt at 3:55 PM
1 Comments:
I also took my first flight on Virgin America recently, a nonstop from Washington-Dulles to LAX. It was an evening flight, and though First Class tempted me, I opted to stay in Coach.
First off, let me establish that I, too, am a huge fan of Continental. I'm a Platinum OnePass member, and my own blog is filled with praise on topics like their being the only domestic carrier still serving complimentary meals in Coach. That being said, I had a wonderful experience on Virgin America.
The core of the Virgin America experience is the Red entertainment system built into each seat. To say that this is "like JetBlue" shows a complete lack of experience; JetBlue has DirecTV (which IS cool), but Red has that and adds music, movies, video games, seat-to-seat chat, and--get this!--the ability to order your drinks and snacks when you want them. They come through with the drink cart once, but after that, if you want coffee, you request it and it's brought to your seat. Not only is this extremely convenient, but it also makes the trip very quiet.
Food? I didn't have anything except some fruit roll-ups, so I can't comment on that. But the coffee was good, and when I pulled out my laptop to do some work, I was delighted to have a standard 110v power plug at my seat. Pillows and blankets? Yep, there's enough for everyone--and while Continental does meet that standard too, they're the only legacy carrier that does.
Which brings me to price. I ended up on Virgin America because my company needed to trim its travel costs. Continental wanted $495 for the trip; Virgin America came in at $385. It's not always that way, and there are a lot of places where Virgin America can't get me. But when they can? Sure, I'll fly with them again. There's room for more than one great airline in America.
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