Reviews

Review: Virgin America A320 Economy LA to Chicago

a row of seats in an airplane

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I needed to position myself to Chicago for my #weekendwarrior trip to Shanghai and Hong Kong, and found a great deal on a VX flight the night before. It accomplished 3 things: earned me some much needed EQM towards Alaska status, picked up my 3rd brand towards IHG accelerate ( Holiday Inn Express), and was a great way to see two of my best friends that I’ve known for over 20 years. It’s been ages since I’ve flown Virgin America, and after the flight I’m excited to see the merger between Alaska and Virgin continue.

an airplane with a person standing in the middle

THE DEETS:

  • When: November 2017
  • Route: LAX to ORD
  • Seat: 5c
  • Status: MVPG75

White seats. Lighting. Virgin has done cool well for a long time.

There are two rows of first, then the main cabin starts, first with a main cabin select row ( which AS MVPs and G75s have access to and includes snacks and food free charge) and then the rest of economy. Unfortunately, those rows were full. It seems if Elites are given access to a row with free food and drink, that those same elites not sitting in that row, would be given free food and drink

Every row has a tv. If Virgin wasn’t the first to implement this, it was nearly. In my opinion, any length of domestic flight is perfectly doable in economy if you have entertainment. Virgin succeeded. There is also power, and a decent amount of space.

Food:

You order via the screen with a swipe of your card. I much prefer this to how American does it at the point of purchase with the flight attendant. It’s swift, easy, and the food comes quickly.

IFE

Loaded with films and tv shows. Another great feature – satellite tv. You can escape into the depths of the entertainment library, or keep abreast of the situation on the ground. Best of both worlds. I will say this, bring your own headphones. I recently upgraded my phone and the headphones I brought with me work on the phone, but nothing else. Luckily they have one pair left, but that was it.

a screen with a red and blue screen

Overall:

Next year Alaska elites will start to get upgraded on Virgin metal. This is a game changer for me. As someone whose locked up MVP Gold for next year, and hopefully will hit G75 I’m excited for these developments. When you combine Virgin and Alaska’s current network it directly covers a lot of places, domestically, I’m likely to travel to next year. This was a very solid flight in economy and one that I”d happily choose over the big 3. If Alaska or Virgin added Indianapolis to LAX as a direct flight I’d be in hog heaven. Otherwise, I’ll happily connect through San Fran, and avoid the legacies.

Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.

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