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Virgin America Wins Best Domestic Airline in 13th Annual World's Best Awards
San Francisco - July 9, 2008 - Virgin America, the California-based airline that is reinventing domestic air travel, today took the top honors as "Best Domestic Airline" in the prestigious Travel + Leisure Annual World's Best Awards readers' survey.
"We're delighted to welcome so many new winners this year, said Nancy Novogrod, Editor-in-Chief of Travel + Leisure. "Virgin America came on strong in its very first year of service, winning the prize for Best Domestic Airline."
Travel + Leisure's World's Best Awards readers' survey is an annual, impartial reader survey that allows Travel + Leisure readers to share their opinions of their favorite travel finds.* Airlines are rated by Travel + Leisure readers in several categories: cabin comfort, food, in-flight service, customer service, and value.
"Virgin America was launched just last year with the goal of creating a different kind of airline: one built around providing an upscale, innovative, high-value customer experience for smart travelers in the urban destinations we serve," said Virgin America Chief Executive Officer David Cush. "So, we couldn't be more honored to take the top award as Best Domestic Airline from Travel + Leisure's readers -- those who fly the most and expect the very best in design, comfort and service in all their travel choices."
The complete 2008 results, including the Top 100 Hotels Worldwide, Top 100 Hotels in the Continental U.S. + Canada, and Top 10 Cities in the World, are featured on www.travelandleisure.com/worldsbest now and in Travel + Leisure's August issue, available on newsstands July 22, 2008.
"These awards are certainly not a finish line," Cush said. "It shows that we are moving in the right direction, but our goal from the start was to design an airline by listening to what travelers actually want. We've already implemented customer suggestions taken from our seatback video-screens from some of our very first August 2007 flights. We may not be the biggest, but we aim to be the most innovative, customer-facing and best in the domestic airline market."
The Travel + Leisure World's Best Awards winners for 2008, including Virgin America's Cush, will be honored in New York City on July 24, 2008, at an awards luncheon at the Four Seasons Restaurant, followed by a gala event at Hudson Terrace that evening.
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Media Contact:
Virgin America: Abby Lunardini, (650) 533-7576/ abby.lunardini@virginamerica.com
Travel + Leisure: Liz Marsh at (212) 382-5684/ elizabeth.c.marsh@aexp.com or Jill S. Davison at jill.s.davison@aexp.com
About Virgin America:
Launched in August 2007, Virgin America is a California-based airline that offers guests attractive fares and a host of innovative features aimed at reinventing air travel. Virgin America?s base of operations is San Francisco International Airport?s ultra-modern and convenient International Terminal. The airline?s new Airbus A320-family aircraft offer guests interactive in-flight entertainment systems, power outlets for laptops and other electronic devices and a host of other innovative features aimed at making flying good again. In Zagat's 2007 Global Airlines Survey of frequent fliers, the airline was ranked #1 among U.S. carriers for quality in First/Business Class and #2 for quality in Main Cabin. To learn more: www.virginamerica.com.
EDITORS NOTE: Virgin America is a U.S. controlled and operated airline and an entirely separate company from Virgin Atlantic. Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Group is a minority share investor in Virgin America.
About Travel + Leisure: The premier chronicler of the way we travel now, Travel + Leisure examines the places, the ideas, and the trends that define modern global culture. The magazine and its website, www.travelandleisure.com, inspire millions of people to explore the world, equipping them with reliable advice and a clearer understanding of how travel can change their lives. Travel + Leisure has a network of international editions, including Travel + Leisure Mexico, Travel + Leisure Australia, Travel + Leisure Turkey, Travel + Leisure China, Travel + Leisure South Asia, and Travel + Leisure Southeast Asia.
*About the Survey: A questionnaire developed by the editors of Travel + Leisure, in association with Harris Interactive, was made available to Travel + Leisure subscribers at www.tlworldsbest.com during the first quarter of this year. Respondents reported where they had traveled worldwide, and rated only the destinations, properties, and companies that were relevant to their recent travel experiences. Respondents were asked to rate hotels, cities, islands, spas, hotel spas, outfitters/safari operators, cruise lines, airlines, and car-rental companies on several characteristics. The scores are indexed averages of responses concerning applicable characteristics. The complete survey methodology is available in the August issue of Travel + Leisure, and online at www.travelandleisure.com/worldsbest
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