View From The Top: Virgin America Named Top Domestic Airline In Travel + Leisure's World's Best Awards Survey For Seventh Year In A Row

SAN FRANCISCO, July 2, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Virgin America, the California-based airline known for its upscale service and low fares, today secured the coveted "Top Domestic Airline" ranking for an unprecedented seventh consecutive year in the annual Travel + Leisure's World's Best Awards readers' survey. Now in their 19^th year, the prestigious awards highlight the results of a survey** that captures the opinions of Travel + Leisure readers on their travel experiences.  To celebrate the award and thank its loyal flyers, Virgin America today launches a limited-time-only "Thanks for the Nice Buzz" 8-hour fare sale for flights starting from $47* (taxes and fees included, restrictions applying).

"Winning this award is one of the highest honors in our industry. It reflects the opinions of some of the world's most discerning travelers and shows that seven years after our launch as a new carrier we're continuing to deliver on our promise of creating a different kind of domestic airline:  one that offers both the best customer experience in the skies and the best value," said Virgin America President and CEO David Cush. "We are pleased that we continue to meet and exceed the expectations of some of the world's most savvy travelers – year after year.  This award is a credit to all 2,800 of Virgin America's teammates and the work they do every day to elevate the flying experience for our guests."  

"Thanks for the Nice Buzz" fare sale tickets must be purchased today (July 2, 2014) between 8:00am PT and 4:59pm PT.  Main Cabin fares start from $47* (taxes and fees included, restrictions applying). Travel must occur between September 3, 2014-February 11, 2015.  Tickets can be purchased on Virgin America's website (www.virginamerica.com) or at 1.877.FLY.VIRGIN (1.877.359.8474).*** 

The complete Travel + Leisure 2014 World's Best Awards results, including the Top 10 Cities Overall and the World's Best Hotels, are featured online now at http://www.travelandleisure.com/worlds-best/2014 and in the upcoming issue of Travel + Leisure, available on newsstands July 18.  Virgin America received an official top score of 85.28 in the domestic airline category, which evaluates all airlines for cabin comfort, in-flight service, customer service and value.  The airline will receive the honors along with the industry's other winners at an awards ceremony on Thursday, July 24, 2014, in New York City.

With its best-in-class guest service, signature design, and innovative amenities, Virgin America has earned a host of industry awards since launching service in 2007. The airline offers guests sleek, tech-forward aircraft cabins with custom-designed seating, fleetwide in-flight WiFi, signature moodlighting, power outlets near every seat and the Red® in-flight entertainment system. The Red platform offers guests on every Virgin America flight their own seatback screen, with 25 films, live TV, interactive Google Maps, videogames, a 6,000 song library and an on-demand menu, which allows flyers to order a cocktail or snack from their seatback any time during a flight. Additionally, the airline recently unveiled its revamped and redesigned website, the only U.S. airline website to offer responsive design, which creates a faster, smoother and more intuitive booking experience for travelers that is consistent across all devices.

The Virgin America network continues to expand its footprint across the country with flights to in-demand destinations including San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, Newark, Washington D.C. (IAD and DCA), Las Vegas, San Diego, Seattle, Boston, Fort Lauderdale, Orlando, Dallas-Fort Worth, Los Cabos, Cancun, Chicago, Puerto Vallarta, Palm Springs (seasonal), Philadelphia (suspends Oct. 6, 2014), Portland and Austin. The airline will also be launching new service to Dallas Love Field (DAL) and New York's LaGuardia International Airport in October 2014.

Photos of Virgin America's unique aircraft can be seen here.

Broadcast quality video b-roll Virgin America's unique cabins and destination footage can also be downloaded here.

About Virgin America: Headquartered in California's Silicon Valley and known for its mood-lit cabins, three beautifully designed classes of service and innovative fleetwide amenities — like touch-screen personal entertainment, WiFi and power outlets at every seat, Virgin America has built a loyal following of flyers and earned a host of awards since launching in 2007 — including being named both the "Best U.S. Airline" in Condé Nast Traveler's Readers' Choice Awards for the past six consecutive years and "Best Domestic Airline" in Travel + Leisure's World's Best Awards for now the past seven consecutive years. For the past two years, Virgin America has topped the Airline Quality Rating, a research project conducted by faculty at Wichita State University and Purdue University that analyzes airline operational performance as reported by the Department of Transportation. The airline's base of operations is San Francisco International Airport (SFO)'s sleek and sustainable Terminal 2. Virgin America has created 2,800 jobs and flies to San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, Newark, Washington D.C. (IAD and DCA), Las Vegas, San Diego, Seattle, Boston, Fort Lauderdale, Orlando, Dallas-Fort Worth (ends October 2014), Los Cabos, Cancun, Chicago, Puerto Vallarta, Palm Springs (seasonal), Philadelphia (suspends October 2014), Portland and Austin. In addition to a Main Cabin that offers custom-designed leather seating with a deeper, more comfortable pitch, the airline's First Class offers white leather seating with 55 inches of pitch, 165 degrees of recline and lumbar massagers. The carrier's Main Cabin Select option offers 38-inches of pitch, free food and cocktails, an all-access pass to media content, dedicated overhead bins and priority check-in/boarding. In 2012, Virgin America opened its first airport lounge, The Loft at LAX, and rolled out enhancements to its Elevate frequent flyer program — including status levels.
For more: www.virginamerica.com

About Travel + Leisure:  The world's most influential travel brand, Travel + Leisure, offers insider access to destinations around the globe with a signature mix of smart advice, immersive photography, expert reporting, and award-winning coverage of hotels, food, design, style, culture, and trends.  Travel + Leisure® features news, finds, and opinions that empower its readers and users to travel better. With a global reach of more than 6.5 million readers, the Travel + Leisure print portfolio includes the U.S. flagship and five international editions in Mexico, Turkey, China, India/South Asia, and Southeast Asia. The U.S. edition of T+L that launched in 1971 is also designed for tablet. Travel + Leisure has an authoritative website, TravelandLeisure.com, and an extensive social media following of more than two million. The T+L brand also encompasses newsletters, clubs, retail stores, and media collaborations.

*Fare Sale Terms and Conditions: All Main Cabin fares are one-way and require a 21-day advance purchase.  Tickets must be purchased by 4:59 PM PT on Wednesday, July 2, 2014.  Travel must occur between September 3, 2014 and February 11, 2015.  Travel for DAL-SFO, DAL-LAX, and DAL-DCA must occur between October 13, 2014 and February 11, 2015.  Travel for DAL-LGA must occur between October 28, 2014 and February 11, 2015. Travel for PHL-SFO and PHL-LAX must complete by October 6, 2014.  Lowest sale fares are available only on certain itineraries.  Lowest sale fares are only valid for travel on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Saturday.  Blackout dates for 2014 include October 11th, 13th, November 10th, 11th, 21st- 30th, and December 19th- 31st.  Blackout dates for 2015 include January 1st-4th and the 19th.  Seats are limited, subject to availability, and may not be available on all flights. Flights may not operate daily. Tickets are non-refundable and non-transferable. For travel solely between points in the Western Region (LAS/LAX/PDX/PSP/PVR/SAN/SEA/SFO/SJD only) changes or cancellations can be made for a $75 fee per guest through all channels, plus any increase in fare, if applicable. For all other itineraries, changes or cancellations can be made for a $150 fee per guest through all channels, plus any increase in fare, if applicable. Any remaining balance will be placed in a guest's travel bank, good for travel on Virgin America for one year from date of issue. Changes or cancellations of a booking made with Elevate Points will be subject to a $100 redeposit fee per guest. Guests who no-show without a change or cancellation prior to the scheduled departure time will forfeit the amount of this fare. In addition, any future flights booked in the same reservation will also be canceled and the fare will be forfeited. Tickets purchased from Virgin America through our reservation call center will cost an additional $20 per guest per itinerary. Any added cost associated with purchasing tickets from Virgin America through our reservation call center will be non-refundable. Fares will not be honored retroactively or in exchange for any wholly or partially used ticket. Fares, routes, fees and schedules are subject to change without notice. Virgin America will accept up to ten pieces of checked baggage, up to 50 pounds each, per ticketed guest traveling within the U.S. The fee for each piece of checked baggage up to 50 pounds is $25. Additional fees apply to baggage exceeding these weight limitations, and other baggage restrictions may apply.

**About the Survey: For complete Travel + Leisure 2014 World's Best Awards readers' survey methodology, visit:www.TravelandLeisure.com/worldsbest

***Any guest calling within the United States has access to a complimentary telecommunication relay service by dialing 711. For more information, go to: http://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/hearing/telecomm.asp

Photo- http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140702/123925
Photo- http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140702/123926
Logo- http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20090123/VIRGINAMERICALOGO

SOURCE Virgin America