July means it's time for market, and that means the bi-annual trip to New York. While I would have preferred to travel by private jet, I am suffering from a "mental recession", and chose instead to use the opportunity to try out Virgin America. I was really looking forward to the flight for a number of reasons:  

1. Having read Losing My Virginity: How I've Survived, Had Fun, and Made a Fortune Doing Business My Way years ago while writing the business plan for On The Fly, I have always had a special respect for Richard Branson as an entrepreneur;
   
2. Virgin makes everything cool, and  it seems like flying commercial needs that badly right now;
   
3. The company is headquartered in San Francisco so I was supporting the local mom-and-pop.
   

It's hard not to notice something is different when you board the plane and it's very dimly lit by purple neon lights with hip lounge music playing quietly in the background. The seats were very small; at 160 lbs, I had a hard time imagining a normal size person (my size is only one area where I consider myself "abnormal") fitting comfortably into the seats. But that is my only real complaint and it was a minor one.

While JetBlue's in-seat DirecTV is a nice amenity, Virgin goes beyond that with a system called "RED". Red allows you to watch live TV, premium TV (which you pay for), about 60 movies that include relatively recent releases, video games, and even a chat feature to message with other passengers (although I'm not sure that feature really ever gets used). Unfortunately, there is nothing good on daytime TV so I ended up immersing myself in a book and a nap.

The verdict: priced similarly to JetBlue for a cross-country trip, and more fun than United or American, I am actually looking forward to my return flight!