Virgin America (San Francisco) today announced that it will expand its schedule to two daily nonstop roundtrips between Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS) and its home base at San Francisco International Airport (SFO) as of July 8, 2014.
Earlier today, Virgin America was named the best airline in 2013 in the Airline Quality Rating, a joint research project conducted annually by faculty at Wichita State University and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University that looks at airlines’ on-time performance and baggage handling, involuntary denied boarding and the customer complaint rates as reported by the U.S. Department of Transportation.
Copyright Photo: Michael B. Ing/AirlinersGallery.com.ย Virgin America Airbus A319-112 N530VA (msn 3686) “Gogo Dancer” arrives in Los Angeles.
Virgin America (San Francisco) today reported its financial results for the fourth quarter and full year of 2013:
Fourth Quarter 2013 Financial Highlights:
Net Income: $14.2 million in net income, compared to a year ago quarterly loss of $25.0 million, an improvement of $39.1 million.
Operating Revenue: Total operating revenue of $359.9 million, an increase of 2.7 percent from the fourth quarter of 2012.
Revenue per Available Seat Mile (RASM): RASM increased 4.1 percent, to 11.79 cents. Both increased load factor (up 1.6 points to 78.5 percent) and yield (up 2.4 percent) contributed to the RASM improvement.
Cost per Available Seat Mile (CASM): CASM excluding fuel costs remained the same year-over-year. Total CASM decreased 1.3 percent to 11.02 cents.
Operating Income: $24 million in operating income, increased by $18.4 million year-over-year. Operating margin was 6.6 percent, an increase of 5.1 points from the fourth quarter of 2012.
Capacity: Available seat miles (ASMs) decreased 1.3 percent during the fourth quarter. Stage length decreased 8.1 percent, to 1,426 miles.
Full Year 2013 Financial Highlights:
Net Income: 2013 net income of $10.1 million increased $155.5 million, from a loss of $145.4 million in 2012. 2013 was Virgin America’s first full year of profitability.
Operating Revenue: Total operating revenue for 2013 was $1.425 billion, a $92 million increase and 6.9 percent improvement over 2012.
RASM: Total RASM increased 9.3 percent over 2012, to 11.64 cents. Virgin America achieved the highest year-over-year percentage increase in RASM of all major U.S. airlines in 2013.
CASM: Excluding fuel costs, CASM increased 3.3 percent, to 6.83 cents. This modest increase was largely driven by network changes that reduced aircraft utilization by 6.7 percent. Total CASM increased by 0.5 percent to 10.96 cents.
Operating Income: $80.9 million, an increase of $112.6 million from 2012’s operating loss of $31.7 million. 2013 operating margin was 5.7 percent, an increase of 8.1 points over 2012.
Capacity: Network changes led to a 2.2 percent decrease in ASMs for the full year. The average length of a flight (stage length) decreased by 5.9 percent, to 1,474 miles.
2013 Restructuring: The Company completed a debt restructuring in May 2013, eliminating more than $300 million of debt and accrued interest and reducing interest rates on a majority of the remaining debt.
Liquidity: Year-end unrestricted cash balance was $155.7 million. Virgin America generated strong operating cash flow in 2013 of $51 million.
Fleet Plan:
2013 Additions: The airline took delivery of one additional A320 aircraft in the first quarter of 2013, increasing the total operating fleet to 53 Airbus A320-Family aircraft.
Future Deliveries: The airline’s total order with Airbus remains at 40 A320-Family aircraft, with five scheduled for delivery in the second half of 2015, five in the first half of 2016, and 30 scheduled for delivery starting in 2020.
Copyright Photo: Wingnut/AirlinersGallery.com. Taken from a different perspective at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), Airbus A320-214 N854VA (msn 5058) taxies to the terminal.
Virgin America (San Francisco) is dropping the short-lived service between San Jose, California (Silicon Valley) and Los Angeles on May 14. Started less than a year ago, the self branded #nerdbird flights did not apparently attract enough flyers.
Copyright Photo: Airbus A319-112 N527VA (msn 3417) taxies on the ramp at Los Angeles International Airport.
Virgin America (San Francisco) today announced plans to significantly expand itsย Dallasย presence by operating new daily nonstop flights fromย Dallas’ย Love Field (DAL) toย New York’sย LaGuardia Airport (LGA), Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA),ย Los Angelesย International Airport (LAX),ย San Franciscoย International Airport (SFO) and Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD).ย ย In addition to adding new service from Love Field to major business destinations such asย New York,ย Washington D.C.ย andย Chicago, the airline plans to increase flights to current destinations (San Franciscoย andย Los Angeles) fromย Dallas. Virgin America is seeking to secure two Love Field gates in order to expand flight options forย Dallasย travelers, as the airport’s centralized location makes it a more convenient choice forย Dallas-based andย Dallas-destined business travelers.ย If successful, the airline would move its current operations fromย Dallas-Fort Worthย International Airport (DFW) to Love Field in October 2014.ย Virgin America would be the only carrier at Love Field to offer guests three classes of service, WiFi, in-seat power outlets and touch-screen seatback entertainment (including live TV) on every flight.ย In addition, the airline operates a new fleet of Airbus A320-Family aircraft, which are significantly quieter than the commercial aircraft currently in use at Love Field.
Virgin America’s ability to offer these new flights toย Dallasย travelers is contingent on obtaining two Love Field gates that are being divested by American Airlines as part of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) settlement agreement resolving American Airline’s merger with US Airways.ย As part of the merger settlement, DOJ required the divestiture of gates at several domestic airports to facilitate entry and expansion by low-cost airlines, where consumer competition could be negatively impacted by the unprecedented consolidation this latest merger represents. ย Virgin America’s new flights fromย Dallasย would provide vigorous competition in a market where at present one carrier controls 80 percent of the gates at Love Field (16 of 20 gates).ย Earlier this year, Virgin America invested in divestiture assets being sold as part of the merger settlement, including 12 airport slots at LGA (six slot pairs) and eight slots at DCA (four slot pairs), both airports where legacy carriers have historically dominated operations and where consumers have suffered from lack of service competition and higher fares as a consequence.ย ย With the planned divestiture of Love Field gates, Virgin America would be able to offerย Dallascustomers a competing network of flights to large business markets from Love Field.
The Love Field plans would significantly expand Virgin America’s presence inย Texas, which now consists of three daily nonstop flights from both LAX and SFO to DFW as well as its popular SFO-Austin flights.ย In addition, the new routes would expand the airline’s presence in bothย Washington D.C.ย and theย New Yorkย area.ย The carrier will be only the second low-cost airline to serve all three majorย New York-area airports. Virgin America has built a loyal following of bi-coastal flyers with its nonstop flights from LAX and SFO toย New York’sย John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) and EWR.
Virgin America’s service to and from DAL would begin fromย October 2014, after the expiration of the Wright Amendment, which has restricted flights at Love Field since 1979.ย The airline would plan to operate daily nonstop flights fromย October 2014ย and would announce full schedules for the following routes should the Love Field gates be approved:
DAL to LGA (four roundtrip flights a day).
DAL to DCA (four roundtrip flights a day).
DAL to LAX (three roundtrip flights a day, expanding to four in 2015).
DAL to SFO (three roundtrip flights a day, expanding to four in 2015).
In addition, the airline would add two roundtrip flights a day from DAL to Chicago O’Hare in early 2015.
Top Copyright Photo: Michael B. Ing/AirlinersGallery.com. Airbus A319-112 N524VA (msn 3204) “Dark Horse” approaches the runway at Los Angeles International Airport.
Virgin America:ย
Bottom Copyright Photo: Bruce Drum/AirlinersGallery.com. The move by Virgin America to offer their highly-rated services at Love Field brings back memories of short-lived Legend Airlines (please click on the photo for additional information).
Virgin America (San Francisco) has announced a new enhanced First Class menu and service that will be launched on its long-haul business flights betweenย San Franciscoย andย Los Angelesย toย Newark, New York,ย Boston andย Washington, D.C.ย (Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport) on March 4, 2014.
The airline continues; “To supplement the traditional after-takeoff cocktail service, the new menu will include the addition of cocktail hors d’oeuvres of roasted tomato, marinated artichoke heart, olive and mozzarella skewer, served with warmed mixed nuts โ as well as a choice of two appetizers and three entrees in-flight. The ‘cherry on the top’ of the new service is the debut of the airline’s first custom ice cream flavor, developed in collaboration withย San Francisco’sย cult favorite ice cream maker,ย Humphry Slocombe. The artisanal ice cream will be hand-delivered daily to the airline’s sleek home base atย San Franciscoย International Airport’s (SFO) Terminal 2 to be served to First Class guests on the airline’s eastbound flights from SFO. Today, the airline is inviting its ‘foodie’ travelers to help decide the soon-to-be signature Virgin America ice cream flavor by casting their vote via Twitter for one of three exclusive ice cream flavors created for the airline byย Humphry Slocombe. Travelers in any cabin can also score a free scoop ofย Humphry Slocombe’sย ice cream at either of the outlet’s twoย San Francisco locations (The Ferry Building & Mission) by presenting their Virgin America boarding pass fromย March 4-June 30th. The airline is also updating its First Class service settings, with hot towel and linen table service available on all flights. Full menu highlights are listed below.
Humphry Slocombeย โ ranked as “SF’s Best Local Ice Cream” by Thrillist – was founded in 2008 inย San Franciscoย and is known for its witty and inventive approach to mixing unusual flavors โ like the bourbon and cornflakes featured in their popular “Secret Breakfast” flavor. Today throughย February 28th, Virgin America fans and flyers can cast their vote for one of three custom-developedย Humphry Slocombeย flavors by tweeting the flavor’s hashtagged name. The flavor with the most votes will become the airline’s signature ice cream flavor and will be served up alongsideย Humphry Slocombe’sย delicious Tahitian Vanilla on SFO-originating flights in First Class startingย March 4.
Guests traveling through SFO’s T2 today can taste test the new Virgin flavors before casting their vote. The three flavors are:
#ButterByMoodlight: Inspired by Virgin America’s signature moodlighting, this flavor is a creamy combination of brown butter and blueberry glaze.
#RedHotBanana: Combines buttery banana cream with sweet cinnamon spice from mashed Red Hot candies.
#CoconutBlondAmbition: A nod to Virgin Group’s inimitable founder Sirย Richard Branson,ย Humphry Slocombe’sย signature vanilla marshmallow fluff mingles with lemon citrus sorbet and a creamy coconut finish.
Virgin America’s First Class cabin features international-grade amenities such as plush white leather seating with 55-inches of pitch, 165 degrees of recline and lumbar massagers.
First Class guests on Virgin America will enjoy an even more upscale menu and service experience as ofย March 4, with tempting offerings like a mixed herb salad with bresaola, soba noodles with lemongrass shiitake broth and faro risotto with spring succotash. The full First Class menu can be foundย hereย startingย March 4, and highlights from the upcoming spring menu include (selections vary by route):
Breakfast: Scrambled Eggs with Herb Creme Fraiche and Tropical Fruit Salad:ย Cage-free scrambled eggs served with herb creme fraiche, sage-roasted Yukon Gold potatoes, a grilledย Romatomato, and optional maple chicken-and-bacon sausages. On the side is a tropical fruit salad of mango, kiwi, strawberry, pineapple, and a basil-lime dressing. Protein Plate with Farro Pudding and Edamame Hummus:ย Coconut-mango cardamom farro pudding served with a protein plate of edamame hummus, one boiled cage-free egg, red grapes, radishes, dolma, yellow roasted tomato, marinated artichoke heart, mini pita breads, and sliced cheddar and camembert cheeses. Protein Plate with Granola and Strawberry Yogurt:ย Assorted fruit plate of kiwi, pineapple, blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, mango, lychees, green grapes, grapefruit, and oranges, served with strawberry low-fat yogurt and gluten-free granola.
Cocktail Hors d’oeuvre:ย Roasted tomato, marinated artichoke heart, olive and mozzarella skewer, served with warmed mixed nuts.
Appetizers: Mixed Herb Salad:ย A fresh mixed-herb salad of cilantro, basil, parsley, chervil, and chives, served with roasted cashews, Japanese cucumber, red teardrop tomato, hearts of palm, and a sweet chili vinaigrette. French Green Bean Salad with Prosciutto:ย Cold haricot verts salad sprinkled with shaved parmesan cheese, pitted country olives, lemon and olive oil zest, and a toasted hazelnut-lemon vinaigrette with savory prosciutto on the side.
Entrees: Chicken Breast with Apple Fig Compote:ย Roasted chicken breast in an oregano, rosemary, and lemon marinade and a fig-apple Madeira jus compote, served with roasted garlic cauliflower puree and collard greens sauteed in sage and pancetta. Protein Plate with Mixed Nuts and Edamame Hummus: Edamame hummus and mixed nuts with a protein plate of one boiled cage-free egg, red grapes, radishes, dolma, yellow roasted tomato, a marinated artichoke heart, mini pita slices, and cheddar and camembert cheeses. Tomato Bisque Soup with Spanish Turkey Prosciutto Sandwich:ย Half Spanish turkey prosciutto sandwich and tomato-bisque soup with an herb and lemon creme fraiche garnish and a Belgian chocolate truffle.
Desserts: Spiced Chocolate Cake:ย Rich Chocolate cake drizzled in sherry sauce and a pinch of candied sunflower seeds. Humphry Slocombe Ice Cream:ย San Franciscoย creameryย Humphry Slocombeย sweetens the skies with two mile-high flavors, Tahitian Vanilla and one custom flavor created exclusively for Virgin America. Raspberry Key Lime Pave:ย Vanilla sponge cake with ginger and raspberry and key lime mousse.
The airline offers fleetwide WiFi, power outlets and personal entertainment at every seat. The airline’s Redโขย in-flight entertainment platform offers guests their own seatback touch-screen TV, with 25 films, live TV, Google Maps, 4,000 song library and an on-demand menu โ so flyers can order a cocktail or snack from their seatback any time during a flight.
Virgin America (San Francisco) has secured the last eight landing and takeoff slots at Washington’s Reagan National Airport (DCA). Virgin America outbid Spirit Airlines and others for the last slots according to Reuters. This last allotment comes after last month’s award of 54 slots to Southwest Airlines and 40 to JetBlue Airways (including 16 it had been leasing). The slot sales were demanded by the Department of Justice (DOJ) a precondition for the American Airlines-US Airways merger.
Copyright Photo: Brian McDonough/AirlinersGallery.com. Airbus A320-214 N839VA (msn 4610) completes its final approach from the south into Washington Reagan National Airport.
Virgin America:ย
Current Route Map: There will now be more Virgin America routes and flights radiating from DCA probably starting with LAX and more flights to SFO. Here are the current routes from Los Angeles (LAX):
Virgin America (San Francisco) has issued this statement about teaming up with Here On Biz:
Virgin America and Here On Biz, the app that ensures entrepreneurs never miss an opportunity to connect, have teamed up to launch the first in-flight social network โ rolling out on all domestic Virgin America flights by the end of February.ย With a growing following of always-connected, tech-forward business travelers, Virgin America will offer guests on flights nationwide the opportunity to “network on the fly” at 35,000 feet.ย Travelers can download the freeย Here On Biz appย from the Apple App store before their flight and use it in the air to locate LinkedIn connections on their Virgin America flight, at the airport or en route to a conference.ย Relying on the airline’s fleetwide Gogo In-Flight WiFi network and purpose-built APIs that identify an aircraft’s location in the air, Here On Biz’s geo-location technology offers travelers the chance to connect via the app with guests on their specific flight, guests on other Virgin America flights in the air, or fellow travelers at their destination. ย This month throughย July 2014, guests on all domestic Virgin America flights can access the Here On Biz app for free through the Gogo network.ย App users can manage their privacy settings, so that travelers can shut off or limit their visible connections to others onboard.
In 2013, Virgin America surveyed a portion of its top Elevate frequent flyers in itsย New York,ย San Francisco andย Dallasย markets.ย The ability to network in-flight with other Virgin America flyers was a suggestion that came out of these focus group sessions.ย The Here On Biz app allows users to see business professionals nearby who are interesting and allows users to chat with those they are connected to.ย The app provides the real time location of a user’s contacts through LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and those in the user’s address book who use the app.ย In a unique partnership with Gogo and Virgin America, the app is now taking networking to 35,000 feet.
How theย Virgin America-Here on Biz In-Flight network works:
Download the new Here On Biz iOS app from the mobile app store before your flight.
Register a new account using your LinkedIn profile.
Rolling out to all domestic flights by the end of February, guests can start connecting when they log in at a gate or onboard at 35,000 feet via Gogo on Virgin America.ย App users will be able to connect with other Virgin America guests traveling on their particular flight, other travelers on any Virgin America aircraft currently airborne, or fellow Virgin America guests at their destination.
In May 2009, Virgin America became the first airline to offer fleetwide WiFi and todayย remains the only U.S airlineย to offer WiFi on every flight.ย In 2011, the airline became the first carrier to launch Gogo’s improved ATG-4 WiFi service on select flights.ย The ATG4 technology increases WiFi capacity by approximately four times the current performance through the addition of directional antenna, dual-modem and EV-DO Rev. B technologies. ย The airline intends to complete its fleetwide installation of ATG-4 in 2014. ย Virgin America is further investing in the connectivity of its fleet as theย launch partner for Gogo’s next generation Ground to Orbit satellite WiFi technology.ย With power outlets at every seat, Virgin America regularly sees more than one-third of guests logging on to in-flight WiFi on its more popular long-haul flights.
Copyright Photo: Ton Jochems/AirlinersGallery.com. Airbus A320-214 N361VA (msn 5515) with Sharklets prepares to start its takeoff roll at Los Angeles International Airport.
Southwest Airlines (Dallas) and Virgin America (San Francisco) are interested in buying the slots at New York (LaGuardia) that American Airlines (Dallas/Fort Worth) and US Airways (Phoenix) have agreed to give up with the DOJ for the merger approval according to Reuters.
Copyright Photo: Ken Petersen/AirlinersGallery.com.ย Southwest Airlines’ Boeing 737-7H4 WL N216WR (msn 32488) with “Free Bags Fly Here” extra markings departs from Raleigh-Durham International Airport (RDU).
Virgin America (San Francisco) today reported its financial results for the third quarter of 2013 with operating income of $44.4 million and net income of $33.5 million on total revenue of $387.3 million. ย The airline posted an operating margin of 11.5 percent โ a 7.2 point improvement for the third quarter, driven largely by a 9.4 percent growth in revenue per available seat mile (“RASM”) over the year-earlier period.
Third Quarter 2013 Financial Highlights
Virgin America reported $33.5 million in net income compared to a year-ago loss of $12.6 million, an improvement of $46 million.
The Company significantly outpaced all U.S. carriers with year-over-year RASM growth of 9.4 percent on a 3.9 percent decrease in capacity.ย ย Virgin America has now led the industry in RASM growth every month since October 2012.
Load factor increased by 0.9 points and yield increased by 7.4 percent year-over-year.
Operating revenue was $387.3 million, an increase of 5.2 percent from the third quarter of 2012.
Cost per available seat mile (CASM) excluding fuel increased by 4.5 percent year-over-year, largely due to the airline’s expansion into major airports like Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR), increased labor costs, and decreased utilization of the fleet as part of the Company’s plan to improve unit revenue.
Year-to-date, Virgin America has generated operating income of $57.3 million, an increase of $94.1 million from the first nine months of 2012.
Unrestricted cash was $156.9 million as of September 30, 2013, an increase of $80.9 million since December 31, 2012.
Since taking a pause in its fleet and network expansion, Virgin America is now experiencing improved revenue and profitability performance across its network. Virgin America took delivery of one aircraft in the first quarter of 2013, increasing its total operating fleet to 53 aircraft.ย The Company does not plan to increase its fleet again until the second half of 2015, when aircraft on order from Airbus are scheduled for delivery.
Virgin America completed a restructuring of the majority of its debt with investors during May 2013, eliminating more than $300 million of existing debt and accrued interest.ย As a result of this restructuring, Virgin America expects its interest expense to substantially decline to approximately $10 million per quarter through 2014.ย Had the May 2013 restructuring been completed prior to the beginning of the year, Virgin America’s year-to-date net income would have been approximately $30 million higher.
Copyright Photo: Brian McDonough/AirlinersGallery.com.ย Virgin America’s Airbus A320-214 N836VA (msn 4480) completes its final bank on the River Approach into Washington’s Reagan National Airport.
Virgin America (San Francisco), the airline that first put an irreverent twist on the in-flight safety video in the U.S., is taking its pre-flight safety education to new heights with the first-ever domestic safety video set entirely to music and performed in dance.ย Launching on Google Play, YouTube and live on digital billboards across Times Square including the American Eagle billboard (at W. 46th Street & Broadway) at 12 p.m. ET yesterday, the video will take to the skies on flights nationwide in November. Virgin America first made waves in the safety video genre in 2007, when it became the first domestic airline to feature a cheeky in-flight safety video across its fleet.ย The cult favorite animated video will still be featured onboard the airline’s Redโข in-flight entertainment platform, but the new “VX Safety Dance” video will freshen up the rotation with a unique pre-flight safety experience that flyers will enjoy โ and pay attention to. The new video was directed by Hollywood blockbuster film director (and Virgin America frequent flyer) Jon M. Chu (G.I. Joe: Retaliation, Step Up 2) and includes some of the top dancers, singers and choreographers fromย American Idolย andย So You Think You Can Danceย โ with production by Virgin Group’s entertainment arm, Virgin Produced.
Bottom Line: For all other staid airlines: The old way of presenting information (including the required safety information) is dead. In order to be on the cutting edge today, especially with the new “You Tube Generation” customer base, you need to stand out and be different especially with lively videos. Some airlines get it, many others do not. Largely led by Air New Zealand in the industry, Virgin America is also a proud member of this fast growing group. For the older CEOs and airline managers clinging to the past, it is a new and different age. You must adapt or be left behind.
Have you seen other interesting video examples from other airlines? Send us the link and we will share them with the WAN readers: airliners gallery@gmail.com. Thank you.
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