My last “real” Virgin America flight in seat 1A! (Photo: Chris McGinnis)
>In this post: How I bid my way to a first class upgrade on Virgin America and a Trip Report (with photos) about my experience…
Last week I used my Virgin America Elevate points (26,000 of ’em!) to buy a roundtrip economy class ticket between San Francisco and Washington, DC– and I lucked out in both directions.
Here’s what happened:
About a week before my trip, I received an email from Virgin America inviting me to bid on an upgrade to first class for the return leg (DCA-SFO) of the trip. Since I knew I’d be tired and ready to kick back after an very busy three-day trip, I thought “hmmm I deserve this, let’s check it out.” It had been a long time since I had enjoyed a transcon flight in Virgin’s big marshmallow white seats, and I knew I’d appreciate the space, service, meal and cocktails on the evening return flight.
Plus, I thought that it could be the last time I’d fly on the “real” Virgin America since its takeover by Alaska seems imminent.
I was psyched to receive the upgrade offer because I’d booked my economy class roundtrip a little late, and the seat selection was poor. I had aisle seats, behind the wing, in both directions. Yuck. So I bit. And I clicked on “Make an offer” and found out that I could only get the upgrade on the return flight. Still, an upgrade in one direction is better than no upgrade at all, right?
The click led to a screen that asked me to name my price for the return flight– but it would not allow me to submit a bid for less than $400. It included a helpful little toggle switch that helped gauge my “offer strength” and also showed a photo of those big leather marshmallows to tempt me.
$400 seemed high to me, so I had to think about it. A few hours later, I decided, once again, “I deserve this.” So I went back and made a bid at the cheapest possible price: $410. If I got it, fine, if I did not, no biggie. I’d suffer at the back of the plane. This was a “free” ticket anyway since I’d used my points, right? What’s another $410? Plus, when I checked, roundtrip first class flights were running at about $3,000 roundtrip on Virgin America.
Once I submitted my bid, I received another email saying that my bid was under consideration- and that I could modify it or cancel it at any time. I liked that. I did not feel like I was stuck. I could up my bid, or I could bow out completely. Virgin said that my credit card would only be billed if my bid succeeded, and that they’d email to let me know if I’d won.
This all took place on Tuesday. My outbound flight departed Thursday morning, and the return was Sunday evening.
When it became time to check in for my flight on Wednesday, I took a quick look to see if any better coach seats have opened up. Lo and behold, one had: a non-reclining exit row window seat 9F– yes! Since it does not recline, Virgin does not charge extra for it, and I don’t ever recline in economy anymore, so I grabbed it. I also noticed that the middle seat next to mine was empty and hoped it stayed that way.
And you know what? It did stay empty! When the door to the plane closed, the guy in the aisle seat and I did a fist bump 🙂 An empty seat next to you on an exit row is almost as good as first class, right? Well, kinda. But I was able to stretch out, get some work done, use the middle seat tray table for overflow. The 4-5 hour flight passed quickly, I had a nice fast Gogo internet connection, a protein plate for lunch (my favorite Virgin meal) ordered from the seat back.
Dear Alaska Airlines: Figure out a way to preserve and expand Virgin’s seatback food and drink ordering system. After eight years, no other airline has copied it and it works so well– for both passenger and crew.
I hope Alaska Air keeps Virgin’s protein plate on the menu- it’s my favorite meal! (Chris McGinnis)
When I arrived in DC, I want straight to the most controversial hotel in the world. You can read about that here…
I was in DC for a meeting on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. As I struggled through a sunny bright DC Saturday morning stuck in a windowless conference room, I remembered my bid for first class on the flight home. A few minutes later, my phone buzzed with an email:
Wooo hooo! I got it! I won the bid! I went to check my options and settle on seat 1A. I felt like standing up in the middle of the meeting and giving myself a high five! I’d be flying home in style. My favorite hometown airline had come through for me. So here’s how that went:
Virgin’s cushy first class seats look like big white marshmallows- I sat in 1A (Virgin America)
Boarding the flight was fast and easy at Washington Reagan National. There are only eight seats in Virgin’s first class. Only one was empty for the the flight to SFO.
First thing I noticed was how old the plane felt. It must have been one of Virgin’s original A320s. I could tell by the older version of inflight entertainment, the scuffs and scrapes on that big white seat and surrounding area. (It did not look as pristine as the Virgin-supplied photo above.) Looking out the unpolished, murky window, I could see paint chips on the big red engine under the wing. While still nice, the hippest, coolest airline in the world looked a little long in the tooth. Alaska Air is going have to give some of these planes a nip and tuck here and there to keep up the Virgin image.
A little work with my bloody mary and mixed nuts (Chris McGinnis)
Service was great as usual. One of my favorite things about flying Virgin is how the pilots, in their black uniforms, stand at the head of the cabin to make pre-flight announcements. It’s interesting and reassuring, and I hope it’s a touch that Alaska Airlines keeps.
Three choices for dinner in Virgin America first class (Chris McGinnis)
Flight attendants helped stow my carry on since I was in the bulkhead. They also distributed huge black pillows and comforters– these are seriously large and cozy. I declined, however, since I knew I’d be working on this flight.
Citrus and Persian cucumber with prosciutto starter salad- nice but the sections of lime were too sour (Chris McGinnis)
Main course: Persian chicken with basmati right- regrettably overcooked and dry, but edible! (Photo: Chris McGinnis)
A pear custard tart for dessert (Chris McGinnis)
Overall, I feel like that $410 was money well spent. I got plenty of work done on the flight. Once again, I had a speedy Gogo connection— fast enough to upload photos, which is rare. I arrived back in SFO in good shape after the 5 hour slog.
I’m going to miss Virgin America. It will be tough to say goodbye to our fun, sassy, innovative, high-style airline. But I believe it will be in good hands with Alaska, which seems to have an open mind about integrating the best parts of the Virgin experience.
What do you think about losing Virgin America? Did you ever get to fly upfront? Ever play the upgrade bidding game? Please leave your comments below.
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I will miss Virgin America. To me it is the best airline out there – from the lighting, customer service, and the entire experience. A bummer that Branson had to sell Virgin America.
Sad to see VX go, but on the other hand, I only rarely got to fly with them anyhow. Too much flying over flyover country 🙂
The highest praise I can give them came from the endorsement of a man sitting across the aisle from me on an LAS-SFO run. He described them as “the best airline in the country”. He was a deadheading pilot — for a different airline!
I only fly Virgin when I travel from EWR to LAX (about 3 to 4 trips per year). And when I do, I always use Cabin Select in the 10th row (reclinable). It’s the next best thing to first class with priority boarding (they call Cabin Select on the second call for First Class) and priority security. As a matter of fact, once you get to Silver status, even your bags get priority (I.e, first ones out at the carousel). Even without the Silver discount, their lounge is really affordable. I’m nervous about the changes coming. Oh and did I mention that safety video? I love it.
I for one, will be really sad to see VX fall under the Alaska umbrella. I’ve loved every single flight I have taken on them (and as a Delta Diamond Medallion who is always treated extremely well by Delta, it’s a big deal for me to fly another airline). I’ve flow both in the front and in the back of VX planes and have been thoroughly impressed each and every time. It will be a sad day when (if???) the deal closes.
Thanks for sharing HS! Good to see you back in Travelskills 🙂
I flew VX twice. Once for work LAX-SEA. It was their one-year celebration, and we were greeted in SEA with cake and drinks. I sprung for the upgrade on the return flight and it was great.
Another time, my wife, son and I flew LAX-BOS for a family visit. That was great also, with one drawback. My son, who I think was around seven or eight at the time, loved the seat-back entertainment system. But the kids entertainment choices were geared for slightly older kids. We tried to limit his viewing of age-inappropriate material, but that was a losing battle.
I flew Virgin SFO to HNL last month… in the Main Cabin Select seats. They really do everything right, from having us board early to be able to stow our baggage (bulkhead) to the GREAT service via the screen + in flight staff with a friendly outlook. Sadly, that made our return flight on UA seem like the dark ages with super cranky in flight team, freezing plane, limited service, charges for everything….. Please, please, please Alaska – keep & expand the Virgin culture!