Being trapped on a long flight near a particularly loud or fussy child has caused most frequent travelers to pine for adults-only planes. And at least one airline has created “quiet zones” that are free of young passengers. But billionaire guy who owns lots of cool stuff Richard Branson says his goal is to just lump all the kids together into a separate section of the plane. [More]
richard branson
New York To Tokyo In Under An Hour? Sure, Says Virgin Galactic’s Billionaire Branson
By 5.7.14
Because he’s got piles of money to sit around on and think about such things, billionaire Virgin Group founder Sir Richard Branson says there could be a day when people are able to fly commercially from New York to Tokyo in an hour. We’re all gonna be astronauts! [More]
It’s Safe To Say You Wrote An Effective Complaint Letter If An Airline Billionaire Notices It
By 7.2.13
Here at Consumerist we’ve read our share of complaint letters. Some are witty and pithy, others are full of rage and utilize all capital letters. Success can be varied, no matter how perfect your letter happens to be. But we think it’s safe to say that when the billionaire head of an airline Tweets your missive to his three million followers, you done good. [More]
When Billionaire Airline CEO Richard Branson Loses A Bet, People Pay To Shave His Legs
By 5.13.13
Sir Richard Branson might be “sir” and founder of the Virgin Airlines empire, but he’s not one to rely on all those piles of money to save him when he loses a bet. After wagering against AirAsia CEO Tony Fernandes and coming out a loser, he donned the garb of a female flight attendant and got to work. [More]
Virgin Galactic Confirms $200,000 Price For 5 Minutes Of Weightlessness
By 10.25.10
In what could either end up as either a key moment in the history of space travel or a snapshot of one really, really rich man’s intergalactic folly, bearded billionaire Richard Branson was on hand in New Mexico for a ceremony to celebrate work being done on the first Virgin Galactic spaceport. [More]
Using Proxies To Get Good Deals When Virgin America Reneges
By 4.2.08
Reader Tom was all set to buy a ticket on Virgin America when all of a sudden the fare he thought was locked in shot up 33%. The machine told him his reservation had expired. Tom tried redoing the purchase several times, clearing his cookies, changing browsers, only to continue to be denied by Richard Branson’s faceless automoton army. So then he cleared his cookies and then rerouting his signal through another computer so to Virgin America it looks like a different user is trying to buy the ticket (in technical terms, he rerouted his traffic through a SOCKS proxy server on the West Coast). Shazam, he was able to get the ticket at the old price. Whether the deal had expired because he dawdled too long, or whether he was only able to get it because it looked like he was coming from the West Coast and the fare was related to the time of day, Tom felt jerked around. If this happens to you, here’s a how-to on using proxy servers.
Southwest Mini-Skirt Passenger Is Welcome On Virgin America
By 10.12.07
According to ABC News, Kyla Ebbert, the pantie-flashing patriot who was harassed by Southwest airlines has found a new best friend, Richard Branson.
Virgin America Cleared For Takeoff
By 3.21.07
The Department of Transportation has dropped its objections to Richard Branson’s latest venture, Virgin America. The domestic version of Virgin Atlantic was blocked in December over concerns the airline was a tad too British. Federal law requires U.S. ownership and control of domestic airlines. Branson won approval by yielding the CEO slot to an American, former Delta executive Fred Reid, and diluting Virgin Atlantic’s presence on the board.
Virgin America, based in Burlingame, Calif., near San Francisco’s airport, said yesterday that it was pleased by the ruling and hoped to start flights between San Francisco and Kennedy International Airport in New York by midsummer. Within nine months of beginning flights, it said it planned to serve Los Angeles, San Diego, Las Vegas and Washington.
Finally, competition between New York and San Francisco. — CAREY GREENBERG-BERGER
“Stupid” Law Prevents Foreign Investors From “Owning” US Airlines
By 1.3.07
Slate magazine’s Daniel Gross makes the case that the law prohibiting foreigners from owning more than 25 percent of an American airline, is not only “stupid” but rooted in “misplaced hostility to foreigners, national-security paranoia, and plain-old protectionism.” He claims the law is obsolete * (the Federal Aviation Act was created in 1938 1958 (the Civil Aeronautics Act was created in 1938) and damaging to consumers.
