Virgin America Wins Best Domestic Airline in Conde Nast Traveler's Readers' Choice Awards

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 13 /PRNewswire/ -- Virgin America, the California-based airline that is reinventing domestic travel, took top honors as "Best Domestic Airline" among U.S. carriers in the prestigious Conde Nast Traveler's 2010 Readers' Choice Awards.  Launched in August 2007, Virgin America has captured the award for the third consecutive year.  The results of this year's Readers' Choice Awards will be reported in the November issue of Conde Nast Traveler.  The survey* is unique for both its size and unfiltered results and reflects the opinions of 25,916 of the most discerning travelers -- Conde Nast Traveler readers.  To thank guests for voting the airline number one for the third consecutive year, Virgin America today launches the "Flattery Will Get You Everywhere We Fly" fare sale with fares as low as $34, with restrictions, taxes and fees applying.**

(Photo:  http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20101013/AQ81210)

(Photo:  http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20101013/AQ81210)

(Logo:  http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20090123/VIRGINAMERICALOGO)

(Logo:  http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090123/VIRGINAMERICALOGO)

"All of us here at Virgin America are humbled and honored to have been named the best domestic airline by Conde Nast Traveler readers for the third year consecutive year," said Virgin America President and CEO David Cush.  "This award is not only an affirmation of our industry-leading service, but also a testament to our teammates' efforts to build a different kind of airline from the guest up.  We're pleased to hear that our service is continuing to resonate with the travelers who expect more from a domestic airline."

"Flattery Will Get You Everywhere We Fly" fare sale tickets must be purchased by October 15, 2010, at 11:59pm PDT.  Fares start from $34**in Main Cabin and restrictions, taxes and fees apply.  For most of the network, travel on fare sale tickets must occur between October 20, 2010 and February 15, 2011. Tickets are on sale today on the airline's Web site (www.virginamerica.com) and at 1.877.FLY.VIRGIN.***

Cush and show co-hosts Angie Harmon and Liev Schreiber were among those on hand when the "Best Domestic Airline" award was presented to Virgin America yesterday evening (October 12) at the star-studded Conde Nast Readers' Choice Awards at the IAC Building in Manhattan.  In a twist of the traditional awards show script, Virgin America was presented with the "Best Domestic Airline" award by one of its famous frequent flyers – Gossip Girl star Penn Badgley.

"The big news is that our readers' appetite for travel has proven to be undeterred and indestructible, and their standards are more exacting than ever," said Conde Nast Traveler Editor in Chief Klara Glowczewska.  "They are an army of trusted judges, and their votes and evaluations have rendered a Readers' Choice Award one of the highest encomiums in the entire travel industry."

With outstanding service, beautiful design and a host of high-tech amenities, Virgin America has captured a list of industry best-in-class awards since its 2007 launch.  The airline offers mood-lit cabins, power outlets near every seat and the Red™ platform — the most advanced in-flight entertainment system in the skies.  The Red touch-screen platform offers 30 films, live and premium TV, Google Maps, music videos, videogames, seat-to-seat chat, a 3000 MP3 library, a first-of-its-kind digital Shop section and an on-demand menu — so guests can order a cocktail or meal from their seatback any time during a flight.  In May of 2009, Virgin America became the first airline to offer in-flight internet on every flight.  In September, Virgin America also took the top honors for "Best Business airline" in Conde Nast Traveler's 2010 Business Travel Poll.              

"Flattery Will Get You Everywhere We Fly" fare sales include the following, and restrictions, taxes and fees apply**:

In addition to a Main Cabin that offers leather seats with a deeper, more comfortable pitch, Virgin America's First Class cabin features international-grade amenities, including plush white leather seats with 55 inches of pitch and lumbar massagers.  The carrier's premium Main Cabin Select service, offers 38-inches of seat pitch, complimentary food and cocktails, an all-access pass to entertainment options, dedicated overhead bin space, one free checked bag and priority check-in/boarding.  

Virgin America continues to experience significant growth with the addition of four new destinations in 2010. In July, the airline announced plans to order 40 additional aircraft.  Virgin America flies to San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, Washington D.C., Seattle, Las Vegas, San Diego, Boston, Fort Lauderdale, Toronto, Orlando, Dallas-Fort Worth (starting December 2010), Los Cabos (starting December 16, 2010) and Cancun (starting January 19, 2011).  

*About the survey: Every year since 1988, a select sample of Conde Nast Traveler readers have taken the Readers' Choice Survey. The questionnaire is available to all readers through a secure Web site. The final tabulations of 25,916 responses were done by Global Market Insite, Inc., of Boston. Organization: Poll categories (Cities, Hotels, etc.) are followed by the criteria for each. Questionnaires contained lists of candidates (individual cities, hotels, etc.), and write-ins were allowed. Only candidates that received a required minimum number of responses were deemed eligible for an award. Evaluation: Each candidate was rated, criterion by criterion, on a five-point scale: excellent, very good, good, fair, and poor. Criterion scores, which represent the percentage of respondents rating a candidate excellent or very good, were averaged to determine the final score. For example, in the Islands category, Maui's 90.7 is the average of its scores for Activities, Atmosphere/Ambience, Beaches, Friendliness, Lodging, Restaurants, and Scenery.

**Terms and Conditions: All Main Cabin fares are one-way, based on travel originating from the US, and require a 7-day advance purchase. Tickets are non-refundable and non-transferable. Fare sale starts 7:00am PDT October 13, 2010. Tickets must be purchased by 11:59pm PDT October 15, 2010. Travel must occur between October 20, 2010 and February 15, 2011, unless specified otherwise. For LAX-DFW service, travel must occur between December 1, 2010 and February 15, 2011. For SFO-DFW service, travel must occur between December 6, 2010 and February 15, 2011. For LAX-CUN service, travel must occur between January 19, 2011 and March 16, 2011. For SFO-CUN service, travel must occur between January 20, 2011 and March 16, 2011. Blackout dates are November 24, 2010; November 27-29, 2010; December 17-18, 2010; December 23-24, 2010; December 26, 2010; December 30, 2010; January 2-3, 2011; February 18, 21, 2011. Lowest fares are available for travel on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Higher fares are available for travel on other days of the week. Seats are limited, subject to availability, and may not be available on all flights. Flights may not operate daily. Mexico service subject to government approval. Changes or cancellations can be made for a $75 fee if changes are made on Virgin America's website (www.virginamerica.com) or a $100 fee through all other channels, including the call center and at the airport, plus any increase in fare, if applicable. Changes or cancellations of a booking made with Elevate Points will be subject to a $75 redeposit fee. Guests who no-show without a change or cancel 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 $15 per guest per itinerary. Any added cost associated with purchasing tickets from Virgin America through our reservation call center will be non-refundable. Fares do not include Passenger Facility Charges of up to $9 each way, September 11th Security Fees of up to $5 each way and a Federal Segment Tax of $3.70 per domestic segment. A segment is a takeoff and landing. For international travel, fares do not include the U.S. Immigration User Fee of $7, the U.S. APHIS fee of $5, and the U.S. International Arrival/Departure tax of $16.10 each way. For service to/from Toronto, fares do not include additional taxes/fees of up to $50, including: Airport Improvement Fee, Canadian Security Fee, Goods and Services Tax, and Harmonized Sales Tax. For service to/from Mexico, fares do not include additional taxes/fees of up to $60, including: Mexico International Departure Tax and Mexico Tourism Tax. 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 one (1) piece of checked baggage up to 70 pounds for $25 for each ticketed guest traveling within the U.S. and for free of charge for each ticketed guest traveling to/from Mexico or to/from Canada. The fee per guest for each additional checked bag up to 50 pounds from the second (2) to the tenth (10) is $25. Additional fees apply to baggage exceeding these weight limitations, and other baggage restrictions may apply.

***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

SOURCE Virgin America