Virgin America has taken out the Annual
Zagat Global Airline Award as best Midsized Premium Class Airline & Best
Midsized Domestic Economy Class Airline.
The full media release from
Virgin America Can be read below:
Virgin America, the
California-based airline that is reinventing domestic travel, today thanked the
more than 5,000 frequent fliers participating in the 2009 Zagat Global Airline
Survey who ranked the carrier best domestic midsize airline in both the premium
class and economy class categories. Virgin America was not only rated best overall
airline in its category, but earned a survey-leading score of 24 points for
First Class service and 21 points for Main Cabin service – beating all U.S.
carriers across all size categories. With one of the youngest and most fuel
efficient fleets in the U.S., the airline also earned top marks for its
sustainable practices. In addition, the carrier received praise for the
usability of its Web site.
Launched in August 2007, Virgin
America has won a list of reader-based awards, including top honors last month as
“Best Domestic Airline” in Condé Nast Traveler’s 2009
Readers’ Choice Awards (a sample of +25,000 readers) and in July, “Best
Domestic Airline” in Travel +
Leisure World’s Best Awards. The airline offers innovative
amenities like touch-screen entertainment, power outlets and fleetwide Gogo®
In-flight Internet.
Zagat’s 2009 Airline Survey
covered 16 domestic and 73 international airlines, as well as 30 domestic
airports. The survey, conducted on ZAGAT.com, incorporates the opinions
of 5,895 frequent fliers and travel professionals who collectively took 97,600
flights in the past year. Each airline was rated on Zagat’s signature 30-point
scale on its premium and economy class service. The airlines were rated
on four aspects of performance: (1) Comfort, (2) Service, (3) Food and (4)
Website. Other issues such as value, on-time performance, luggage and
in-flight entertainment were also covered.
Virgin America received the top
ranking within its size group for both its Main Cabin and First Class service.
Full results for U.S. airlines are listed below, with point tallies where
available. For a full list, visit: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/zagats-2009-airline-survey-shows-air-travel-decline-72530437.html
Midsize Domestic Premium Class:
24: Virgin America
21: Hawaiian Airlines
20: Alaska Airlines
Midsize Domestic Economy Class:
21: Virgin America
Midwest Airlines
16: Hawaiian Airlines
Large Domestic Premium Class:
21: Continental Airlines
17: American Airlines
Delta Air Lines
16: United Airways
15: AirTran Airways
Large Domestic Economy Class:
19: JetBlue Airways
15: Continental Airlines
Southwest Airlines
12: AirTran Airways
11: Delta Air Lines
Virgin America’s Red™
entertainment platform offers 25 films, live TV, interactive Google Maps, music
videos, videogames, and an on-demand menu that allows guests to order what they
want, when they want it. In May, the airline became the first to offer in-flight internet
on every flight, and in October it joined forces with Google, to
make WiFi free for the holidays. Virgin America maintains an industry leading
on-time ranking, with an impressive 87.2% percent A-14 on-time performance
reported for the third quarter of 2009.
In addition to a Main Cabin that
offers custom-designed leather seats with a deeper, more comfortable pitch, the
airline’s First Class offers plush white leather seats with 55 inches of pitch
and lumbar massagers. The carrier’s premium Main Cabin Select option, offers
38-inches of pitch, complimentary food and cocktails, an all-access pass to
Red’s countless entertainment options, dedicated overhead bins and priority
check-in/boarding.
Virgin America flies to San
Francisco, LA, New York, Washington D.C., Seattle, Las Vegas, San Diego,
Boston, Orange County and Fort Lauderdale. The airline offers daily flights
from: SFO to LAX, SFO to JFK, SFO to SAN, SFO to IAD, SFO to LAS, LAX to JFK,
LAX to IAD, SFO to SEA, SEA to LAX, JFK to LAS, BOS to LAX, BOS to SFO, SFO to
SNA, LAX to FLL and SFO to FLL.