Virgin America wins Conde Nast travelers business travel poll

Tags :North America, Virgin America, Virgin America


Airline Announces new business-friendly fare options and 24-Hour Fare Sale.

Virgin America, the California-based airline on a mission to make flying good again, took the top honors for “Best Business/First Class” among domestic airlines in Condé Nast Traveler’s 2009 Business Travel Poll. The annual survey of the magazine’s business travelers ranked Virgin America as the top U.S. airline for Business/First Class service for the second consecutive year, as reported in the October issue of Condé Nast Traveler. To thanks its loyal guests, the airline today unveils more business-friendly flexible fare options on its web site and the “Let’s Get Down to Business” 24-hour fare sale.

“We’re honored to receive top reviews from the selective business travelers who fly the most and expect the best in service, comfort and design,” said Virgin America President and CEO David Cush. “Now more than ever, business travelers are looking for more for their money. With innovative amenities to keep them connected, beautifully designed new planes and low fares, we think we’re offering the best value in the domestic skies.”

The Condé Nast Traveler’s Business Travel Poll is administered by an independent firm that asked more than 25,000 readers identified as business travelers to rate hotels, airports and airlines. Over 1700 surveys were completed. Final scores (out of 100) represent the percentage of readers who rated an airline “excellent” or “very good.” Virgin America had an overall score of 68.6. The carrier’s nearest competitor (No. 2 in the rankings) had an overall score of 38.8.

To thank its business guests, as of today Virgin America’s web site now features new business-friendly flexible fare options, including Fully Refundable Main Cabin and Fully Refundable Main Cabin Select fares, as well as a new “Instant Upgrade to Main Cabin Select” fare class.* Previously, Fully Refundable Fares were only available via the airline’s call center and travel agents. The new choices give business and leisure travelers more flexible fare options, as well as access to premium seats at lower fares when their travel plans are not likely to change.

“With these latest changes to our web site, we wanted to give travelers more flexible low fare options and more choice, including access to premium seats at Main Cabin fares. Our Main Cabin Select service offers guests unrivalled amenities for far less than what they would pay for business class on another airline,” added Cush.

Virgin America’s 24-hour “Let’s Get Down to Business” fare sale also starts today. Tickets must be purchased by 7:00am PT on Sept. 22, 2009. Main Cabin fares start as low as $29 from SFO to LAX and SFO to SEA. Long-haul Main Cabin fares start as low as $89 from BOS to LAX, BOS to SFO, JFK to LAS and IAD to LAX. Main Cabin Select Instant Upgrade fares are available for as low as $199 from JFK to LAX, JFK to SFO, BOS to SFO, BOS to LAX, IAD to LAX and IAD to SFO. Tickets are on sale today on Virgin America’s website (www.virginamerica.com) and at 1.877.FLY.VIRGIN (1.877.359.8474)**. All travel must occur between September 22, 2009 and September 30, 2009.*** Visit www.virginamerica.com for the full list of the latest fare offers.

In addition to a Main Cabin that offers custom-designed 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 cabin option, Main Cabin Select, offers amenities not found in a typical domestic First Class service. Main Cabin Select offers 38-inches of seat pitch, complimentary food and cocktails, an all-access pass to Red’s countless entertainment options, dedicated overhead bin space, one free checked bag and priority check-in and boarding.

(c) Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation. Date posted: 22-Sep-09

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