Virgin America: Still a Bit Buggy

I just had my first flight on the high-tech, super-cool budget airline, and I was impressed by the soothing purple lighting, the power outlets for each row, and the friendly service. Too bad the much-touted "Red" entertainment system was busted.

OK, that's not totally fair. My Red panel worked just fine on my flight from New York to San Francisco (although my wife's panel kept getting an error message and had to be restarted). But on my flight back to New York, all the Red screens in my row were dead, and apparently several others in the cabin were DOA, as well.

It was a disappointing end to my Virgin America flight, which I'd been looking forward to since the airline's launch back in August. As you may recall, the new bargain airline made quite a splash with its geeky amenities—including Ethernet, USB, and power ports, purple mood lighting, and a cutting-edge entertainment system that boasts seat-to-seat chat, Google Maps (which charts your flight in real time), videos, and games (yep, Doom is included).

So let's start with the good stuff. The purple lighting in the cabin was, indeed, quite cool—a welcome alternative to the sterile, dentist's-office lighting you usually get. The leather seats were comfy, and the glossy white plastic on the seat backs did, indeed, remind me of an iPod (as Boing Boing put it). Leg room was still a little tight, though; I sat in a standard coach row, and sitting straight up, my knees were touching the seat in front of me (granted, I'm six-two, so your mileage may vary). Meanwhile, the Ethernet and USB ports sit beneath your seat, along with a power outlet. I didn't have a chance to try the Ethernet port (which won't deliver Internet access until next year), but the power socket worked just fine; my USB port however, wouldn't charge my iPhone, as promised.

Now, on to Red, which is a pretty cool entertainment service when it's working. You just tap the screen to get started; a main menu lets you browse the various videos, games, music, and other goodies. The live TV channels are always reliable time-wasters for long flights, although I was bummed that of the major TV networks, only Fox was available. You can also browse a collection of more than 25 movies (recent movies—$8 a pop—included "Night at the Museum" and "Casino Royale," along with several indie films I'd never heard of) and a few thousand songs; I especially liked how you can create on-the-fly music playlists for your listening pleasure. The games were decent, although they're more along the lines of what you'd get on a cell phone; Doom, for example, was so slow that it was practically unplayable, although my wife fell in love with a puzzle game that she found. Seat-to-seat chat worked fine, if a bit sluggish (air-to-ground chat, along with Web browsing and e-mail, are slated for next year).

Videos and games are all well and good, but I especially loved the food menu, which lets you order food and drinks (paid for via a credit card swipe) without having to ding the attendant. We tried ordering snacks and tea, and within a few minutes, a cheerful steward had our order ready. Very nice.

I was looking forward to wasting more time on Red during my flight home, but when I got to my seat, my screen was dark—as were the others in my row. Red was working for the guy in front of me, but I heard other passengers buzzing that their screens were dead. I buzzed an attendant (again, quite friendly and apologetic) who tried to revive my Red panel, but no dice.

Overall, my flight was just fine (hey, we landed in one piece), but after all the hoopla about the cool gear on board, I couldn't help but be disappointed by all the glitches. Anyone else out there have similar (or glowing) experiences?