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Virgin America La Guardia Inaugural October 28, 2014

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  • Virgin America La Guardia Inaugural October 28, 2014

    Virgin America La Guardia Inaugural October 28, 2014


    Full album to Virgin America’s La Guardia Inaugural flight:
    http://s1213.photobucket.com/user/Ca...20Lounge%20LGA

    I have attended another Virgin America inaugural this week, and thankfully it was a bit more festive than the Dallas Love Field launch two weeks ago. Virgin America purchased some La Guardia slots from American Airlines last year, as American Airlines has to give up some slots in order to gain approval for its merger with US Airways. Anyway Virgin America decides to use these new eight slots to begin service from La Guardia to Dallas Love Field, which can provide a convenient connection to SFO and LAX. The staffs at La Guardia were mostly veterans, who worked at JFK, and were enthusiastic about this new station. Virgin America has also introduced a more premium style first class meals in first class too for these Dallas to East Coast flights. It is clear that Virgin America considered these flights premium and high yield.

    I arrived at La Guardia the day before and I took a few photos showing their preparations. Virgin America flies out from Concourse C of the Central Terminal Building, which is also known as Terminal B. C6 is where VX uses. Its check-in counters are located between American Airlines and United Airlines.





    October 28, 2014
    VX 765 LGA-DAL Lv1155 Arr1450 Airbus A319-100 N528VA “Fog Cutter”

    Temporary sign for Virgin America at curbsides



    I arrived La Guardia a bit earlier than normal, as I wanted to visit the new American Express Centurion lounge.



    Check-in counters are fully set up, and there are the usual first class/MCS/elevate gold/silver check-in, as well as full service line, baggage drop off, and self-check-in kiosks. There were staffs helping passengers on this inaugural day of service, and many of the inaugural flight passengers were new Virgin America flyers.






  • #2


    The staffs were chatty today, as they were trying to get used to the new Virgin America stations. They were mostly staffs transferring from JFK to LGA. I also asked about the possibility for any festivities at the gate, and the agents said that there would be champagne in the gate to welcome the arrival of the new flight. That sounded good to me!

    Gate C6 – in between American Eagle’s regional jets


    Concourse B – I missed those Midwest Boeing 717s – now a LCC concourse filled with Frontier, Southwest, and JetBlue


    Frontier Airlines A319 N209FR to Cleveland


    I know some of you are not keen on lounge, so I just hand picked a few pictures to post here, and provided a link to my full album. Since I also visited the Centurion lounge the day before, the arrangement of the pictures in the album was a bit odd. Anyway, this Centurion lounge is definitely my favorite place in La Guardia now, which may motivate me to fly more often to LGA again. It is complimentary to all Platinum and Centurion members, and their families, and two guests. Other AMEX cardholders can pay to gain entry. However you must be arriving or departing from any NYC airports on the same day, in order to use this lounge. I love the seats with view of the apron, the lovely buffet featuring the best food out of all the other Centurion lounges so far, and just a nice place to hang out.








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    • #3





      Full album of American Express Centurion lounge La Guardia
      http://s1213.photobucket.com/user/Ca...20Lounge%20LGA

      Thankfully there is a TSA Pre line here at Concourse C and it takes a short time to reach C6. Concourse C in general is a very sad place with ugly ceilings, big fans, A/C units, and is way past its prime. American mostly uses this concourse for its American Eagle flights, and United uses the gates towards the end of the Concourse. C6 is indeed right between American Eagle RJs. Virgin America has definitely tried to make C6 more appealing by replacing the carpets, a new gate podium, and install new seats with many power outlets. I won’t say that it is gorgeous, but at least a more tolerable place to sit.








      There was a more celebratory theme today, and there were many Virgin America staffs waiting for the first arrival and making sure things ran smoothly.


      Sparkling wine and assorted beverages


      Sprinkles Cupcakes

      Comment


      • #4
        Mimosa and cupcake – why not?


        I was hoping that Virgin America will use its newest A319, N530VA, for this inaugural flight, which is also the only Virgin America’s A319 that I have yet to fly. But in the end, N530VA came in as the second flight, and N528VA, “Fog Cutter,” was used on this inaugural flight!

        Not a good shot – but the first scheduled Virgin America’s A319 making its final into LGA


        Water Canon Welcome of course



        Fog Cutter parking at Gate C6






        Fog Cutter at Virgin America’s new home C6


        Staffs lining up welcoming the first group of arriving passengers from DAL


        Comment


        • #5
          Boarding began at 11:33am, and even the jet bridge gets a refresh with new carpet and new paint!



          The loading was interesting. First class was full with fare paying passengers, including some new VX flyers. There were the familiar complaints, such as the lack of coat hanging closets and the first class F/A had to do a seat demo to almost all first class passengers. He was very friendly. Main cabin Select was very lightly loaded, and Main Cabin was about 50-60% full. The F/As had to remind passengers that Row 3 and 8 were Main cabin select, and those seats were available but at a cost. However, they were more than welcome to move to other seats. Door was closed early at 11:47am.

          Mood lighting


          Better shot of Virgin America’s First Class seat


          Sight out of the window


          Airway will be servicing Virgin America’s flights here at LGA


          A newly painted American Eagle CRJ-700 parked next door, along with United’s A320


          Push back began at 11:54am, and taxing time was really short today. I guess it was not a particular busy time.

          American Airlines Boeing 737-800 Winglet took its turn at R/W13 first.


          Our turn now – R/W 13


          Westjet Boeing 737-600 C-GWSJ would be next


          We took off at 12:07pm.

          Comment


          • #6


            Beautiful fall scene, as we reached 32,000feet, and then eventually 38,000feet.



            Flying time was three hours and twenty-eight minutes. Thankfully Virgin America has maintained a full hot meal service, (despite Seattle to Los Angeles is now a cold meal service), and there is even a different menu, despite these entrées are recycled from previous cycles.

            To my surprise, there is even a warmed mixed nuts service with the first beverage service with refills available. VX has definitely done its research on American Airlines’ service. There were two hot towel services too – one prior to meal and one prior to landing. Of course I can’t guarantee that every VX F/As will follow through with two hot towel services, but at least it is written in the manual.



            Here is the menu transcript for lunch & dinner (flights depart after 10am):

            Cocktail Snack
            Warmed Mixed Nuts
            Served with drinks after takeoff
            Contains nuts


            Appetizer
            Simple Salad
            Mesclun mix with chives, chervil, and basil leaf with cherry tomatoes. Served with a balsamic, olive oil dressing.
            A rye roll was also available.




            Entrées
            Chicken Puttanesca
            Chicken thigh braised with puttanesca wine sauce. Served aside Israeli herb couscous and with silvered almonds and vegetable accompaniments of patty pan squash, grilled zucchini, and a roasted cherry tomato.
            Contains poultry and nuts.
            This chicken dish was featured during the summer cycle, and I decided to give it a try for this inaugural flight. It was not bad, but I think I preferred the risotto, which I have tried before.



            Or
            Farro Risotto with Spring Succotash
            A creamy risotto made with whole-grain farro, corn puree, mascarpone and Parmesan cheese and basil. Topped with sweet corn, herb and leek succotash, and sautéed shitake mushrooms, sugar snap peas.
            Contains dairy.

            Dessert
            Pecan Bar by Sweet Lady Jane
            Toasty pecans and gooey goodness nestled in a butter crust.
            Contains pecans, sugar, dairy, and wheat.
            A nice dessert!


            Main Classics
            Take a bite out of our Main Cabin menu items

            Pastrami on Marble Rye Sandwich
            Enjoy a classic on marbled rye, topped with sliced beef pastrami, caramelized yellow onions, Swiss cheese, and kale-broccoli slaw in a horseradish cream sauce
            Served with a Dijon mustard packet and a Nib Mor Dark Chocolate square
            Contains dairy, wheat, and nuts

            Artisan Cheese Plate (Travel Light)
            Feeling puckish? Try this light sampling of smoked Gouda, mild Cheddar, Muenster, and Camembert cheeses, nestled alongside a green grape cluster, dried apple, and apricot.
            Served with gluten-free olive oil and sea salt crackers.
            Contains dairy

            Protein Plate
            Get your dose of protein with a cage-free hard-boiled egg, smoked Gouda, mild Cheddar, and Muenster cheeses, a grilled chicken breast slice, red grape tomatoes, carrot, celery, and cucumber batons, wheat mini pita rounds, and a green grape cluster. Served with Greek yogurt hummus.
            Contains wheat, poultry, and dairy

            Autumn Veggie Wrap
            Taste a bit of the season in this lemon pesto salad with farro dressed in edamame and roasted red pepper hummus, baby spinach, roasted butternut squash and zucchini mixed with crumbled feta cheese, all wrapped in a spinach tortilla. Served with a tropical fruit salad of pineapple, grape, mango, and strawberry.
            Contains dairy and wheat

            Snacks Anytime
            Top Shelf Bites
            Nibble on a spread of delectable snacks throughout the flight.
            NB/SB-CYC3

            For the rest of the flight, it was relatively peaceful and the F/A frequently check on passengers. Most passengers chose to work during this flight, and I took a nap, as I still had to fly onward to LAX.

            Comment


            • #7
              Descent soon began at 2:05pm CST (an hour behind from EST).




              We landed on R/W31L at 2:35pm, and stopped at the taxiway for a minute or so, as N527VA was just pushed back and getting ready to fly to SFO.





              Anyway we parked at gate 11 six minutes later, and many passengers remarked on the short taxi times, especially DFW is notorious for long taxing time.


              Fog cutter returned to LGA two hours later, and I took a shot of the flight leaving.


              Can’t help to end this trip report with this picture – pilot cleaning cockpit windows!


              In conclusion, it was a nice inaugural flight, and Virgin America was definitely gambling its future on Dallas Love Field, New York La Guardia Airport, and Washington DC Reagan National Airport. It will be interesting to see how these flights will perform. Southwest is a big giant, and hopefully Virgin America can survive and provide a nice alternative to Southwest.



              Thanks for reading!
              Carfield

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