I was not aware of the legend built around Virgin America when I stepped aboard last week. I was flying to L.A. and a bit skeptical whether that particular plane’s design was only pulled out for such Southern California crowds. It’s cool to know that is how all of Virgin America flies.

Apart from the great use of technology (and illustration!), the flight crew acted as though they had been through some new customer relations debriefing. I didn’t get any unhappy rushed crew members and the pilot talked to the cabin in a calm and real manner.

I’m excited to see what enhancements they add and can understand how without the computer system working a lot changes.

Physical discomfort is still the most fundamental limitation of the experience. Of course a lot of airlines have shown that they recognize this problem, but only in as much as it impacts business class. Imagine, though, if a carrier offered standard economy seating that had: proper legroom, a detachable, wireless touch screen that you could hold in your lap (lapscreen?), fully reclining seats, and, dream of dreams, a sense spaciousness and privacy. I wonder, is there any way to make such a thing financially viable?

My biggest problems were definitely ergonomic problems… I totally don’t understand the armrests not going back all the way… few airplanes actually let it go back completely, but Virgin was worse than any. You also should have seen (I took pictures somewhere) the awkward position I had to put my hand in to use the touchscreen for extended periods. I was like hanging onto the edge of the screen with my fingers to try to rest it on something while touching the screen with my fingers. So while I liked many things about Virgin, I’d like to see an airline get the physical comfort issues straightened out. Those issues are what keep my parents from wanting to fly. Granted, first class looked pretty darn comfy.

P.S. You also should have seen me pointing the remote at the screen and moving it around… expecting it to be a Wii-mote.