Tag Archives: mineta san jose international airport

British Airways announces a new Boeing 787-9 route to San Jose, California

British Airways (London) has announced that it will begin service between Mineta San Jose International Airport and London Heathrow Airport from May 4, 2016. This marks the first regularly scheduled nonstop service to the UK for the city of San Jose. British Airways will operate the newest aircraft in its fleet, a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, featuring the airlineโ€™s newly designed First cabin.

British Airways logo

San Jose will be the fourth Californian city from which British Airways flies, following Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Diego. Earlier this year British Airways introduced its super jumbo Airbus A380 onto San Francisco, providing customers with comfort, space and enhanced wellbeing for their trip to London.

 

Flight BA279 will touch down in San Jose for the first time at 6:05 pm in the evening of May 4, 2016 and BA278 will depart San Jose at 8:00 pm the same evening, arriving into London Heathrow Terminal 5 at 2:05 pm the next day.

 

The airlineโ€™s 787-9 Dreamliner will accommodate eight customers in the new First cabin, 42 seats in Club World, 39 in World Traveller Plus and 127 in World Traveller. Lower pressurization means less dry cabin air, leaving customers feeling more refreshed with less jet lag while the aircraftโ€™s smooth ride technology reduces the effect of turbulence. Soothing mood lighting in every cabin gradually adjusts to reflect the time of day and the large windows feature electronic dimming switches.

The 787-9, the first of which is due to be delivered to British Airways in September, is 20 feet longer that its 787-8 predecessor, so as well as offering World Traveller (economy), World Traveller Plus (premium economy) and Club World (business class), there’s also room for a new First class cabin โ€“ a first for the airline’s 787 fleet.

Copyright Photo: AirlinersGallery.com.

British Airways aircraft slide show:ย AG Airline Slide Show

AG Visit our new look

 

Virgin America arrives in San Jose, California, launches its “#nerdbird” contest

Virgin America (San Francisco) yesterday (May 1)ย launched new service to Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport in San Jose, California (SJC) โ€“ the latest destination city in the carrier’s network.ย The addition of SJC expands the airline’s presence in the greater San Francisco Bay Area (SJC is in the South Bay). Virgin America will serve SJC with four daily nonstop flights from and to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX).

Guests on the very first LAX-SJC inaugural flight traveled on board Virgin America’s new Airbus A320 (N841VA), appropriately named “#nerdbird,” and were greeted by Virgin Group Founder Sir Richard Bransonย at a red carpet welcome at SJC’s new Terminal A.

Upon arrival at SJC’s ย brand new Terminal A, travelers were given a red carpet welcome with a touch of Silicon Valley-inspired irreverence: flight guests were given nerd glasses and pocket protectors onboard. ย The inaugural #nerdbird flight received a traditional water cannon salute as Flight 534 touched down in San Jose. ย Once deplaned, the inaugural flight guests were greeted by Mayor Reed, U.S. Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren, business and civic leaders and Virgin Group Founder Sir Richard Branson, for a champagne brunch gate-side to toast the new route.

Virgin America A320-200 N628VA (06-Nerdbird)(Flt)(Virgin America)(LRW)

Virgin America on May 1 also kicked offย aย #nerdbird Goes Southย online promotion sweepstakesย inviting Elevateยฎ frequent flyer program members to enter their membership number by May 16 for a chance to win a prize that includes Elevate Gold Status and 15 single-use WiFi passes good for any Virgin Americaย flightย through the end of 2013, courtesy of Gogoยฎ. All entries will get a code good for 25% off flights between San Jose and Los Angeles (restrictions applying).*** For contest rules please visit:ย https://www.virginamerica.com//html/pdf/130501_nerdbird_contest.pdf

The new SJC-LAX route will also carry the codes of Virgin America codeshare partners Hawaiian Airlines and Singapore Airlines, offering seamless connectivity for guests traveling to and from San Jose via LAX. The addition of Virgin America San Jose-Los Angeles service creates convenient new online connections for San Jose guests traveling to and from Virgin America’s Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Fort Lauderdale, Las Vegas, New York (JFK and EWR), Orlando, Philadelphia, and Washington DC (IAD) destinations.

Virgin America cabin (Virgin America)(LRW)

Copyright Photo: Mark Durbin. All others by Virgin America. Airbus A320-214 N361VA (msn 5515) at the San Francisco hub is the first with Sharklets.

Virgin America:ย AG Slide Show

Video of the recent LAX-LAS launch:

Route Map:

Virgin America 5:2013 Route Map

Virgin America is coming to San Jose, California

Virgin America (San Francisco) is expanding in the Bay Area. The airline will addย Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport (SJC) to its route map as of May 1, 2013. Virgin America will launch service from SJC to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) on this date, supplementing its base from nearby SFO.

In five and a half years of flying, Virgin America has grown from three aircraft to a fleet of 52, with expansion to 19 destinations.

Copyright Photo: Ton Jcohems. Airbus A320-214 N625VA (msn 2800) arrives in Los Angeles.

Virgin America:ย AG Slide Show

Current routes (red) from Los Angeles:

Please click on the map for the full-size view.

Please click on the map for the full-size view.