Feb 20, 2008
An impressive new voice in travel journalism is enthusiastic about Virgin America Airlines and Megabus
In Long Beach, California, last week, Pauline and I met Jennifer Leo, the daily travel blogger for the Los Angeles Times (travel.latimes.com/daily-deal-blog), and author of two amusing books on travel, The Thong Also Rises and Sand in My Bra. Her enthusiasm for travel was so infectious, and her recent trip experience so valuable, that we interviewed her for our Sunday radio broadcast.
Jen is the first person I've met who has actually flown on the new, cut-rate airline, Virgin America (www.virginamerica.com). She is convinced that it plans to expand throughout the nation, and cites that it has recently added routes within California (for example, San Francisco to San Diego) to its initial trans-continental service. On Virgin America, she reported, economy class passengers enjoy entertainment beyond anything currently provided by JetBlue: your choice of 25, full-length Hollywood films, and several thousands of musical numbers. What's more, passengers use a computer device at their seat to order food and beverages exactly as they would in a restaurant; if you simply want a drink of water, you punch in your request and a flight attendant brings it to you.
Jen was on the inaugural flight of the San Francisco-to-San-Diego service, along with Richard Branson, the British entrepreneur. Though he technically doesn't control the airline (to avoid various regulatory problems), it's obvious he's influential in it, and there is clearly an upcoming battle between Virgin America and the current airlines, a competitive tension that has already reduced the cost of many east-coast-to-west-coast flights to under $150, all because of Virgin America. I'll try to keep this blog up-to-date on this interesting new company.
A second British-initiated travel development is perhaps more important, and was also described in detail by Jen Leo. The British own a U.K. bus company called Megabus (www.megabus.com), which (around a year ago) began serving key Midwestern cities of the U.S. -- Chicago, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, St. Louis, Cincinnati, Columbus, Cleveland, Detroit -- at prices as low as $1 a seat for several seats on each departure. (The lowest prices are for reservations made well in advance, and the rate increases as you approach the departure date). I reported on Megabus' Midwestern operations on this blog a year ago, and pointed out that it consisted of brand-new buses and impressive service. I failed to grasp the full scope of Megabus' ambitions -- which Jen believes will ultimately become a nationwide challenge to Greyhound, a low-cost David against a complacent Goliath.
Megabus has supplemented its mid-western routes by suddenly operating out of Los Angeles to San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose, San Diego and Las Vegas, always on trips for which several seats are set aside to be sold for $1. Even if you don't snare the dollar seats, you often pay as little as $8 to $10 for the same routes that cost $36 and more on Greyhound. A Los Angeles Times reporter recently made such a trip (from Los Angeles round-trip to San Francisco) for $11, and was accompanied by colleagues paying just a bit more:
There are indications that Greyhound is starting to wake up and get concerned. That can be the only explanation for multiple announcements that its buses are being upgraded, terminals refurbished and cleaned up. Whether they'll offer $1 seats isn't sure.
So there you have it: two British companies returning to the colonies to show us a thing or two about low-cost travel. I'm indebted to Jen Leo for stressing the travel importance of both developments.
Write and read comments about this post.
Jen is the first person I've met who has actually flown on the new, cut-rate airline, Virgin America (www.virginamerica.com). She is convinced that it plans to expand throughout the nation, and cites that it has recently added routes within California (for example, San Francisco to San Diego) to its initial trans-continental service. On Virgin America, she reported, economy class passengers enjoy entertainment beyond anything currently provided by JetBlue: your choice of 25, full-length Hollywood films, and several thousands of musical numbers. What's more, passengers use a computer device at their seat to order food and beverages exactly as they would in a restaurant; if you simply want a drink of water, you punch in your request and a flight attendant brings it to you.
Jen was on the inaugural flight of the San Francisco-to-San-Diego service, along with Richard Branson, the British entrepreneur. Though he technically doesn't control the airline (to avoid various regulatory problems), it's obvious he's influential in it, and there is clearly an upcoming battle between Virgin America and the current airlines, a competitive tension that has already reduced the cost of many east-coast-to-west-coast flights to under $150, all because of Virgin America. I'll try to keep this blog up-to-date on this interesting new company.
A second British-initiated travel development is perhaps more important, and was also described in detail by Jen Leo. The British own a U.K. bus company called Megabus (www.megabus.com), which (around a year ago) began serving key Midwestern cities of the U.S. -- Chicago, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, St. Louis, Cincinnati, Columbus, Cleveland, Detroit -- at prices as low as $1 a seat for several seats on each departure. (The lowest prices are for reservations made well in advance, and the rate increases as you approach the departure date). I reported on Megabus' Midwestern operations on this blog a year ago, and pointed out that it consisted of brand-new buses and impressive service. I failed to grasp the full scope of Megabus' ambitions -- which Jen believes will ultimately become a nationwide challenge to Greyhound, a low-cost David against a complacent Goliath.
Megabus has supplemented its mid-western routes by suddenly operating out of Los Angeles to San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose, San Diego and Las Vegas, always on trips for which several seats are set aside to be sold for $1. Even if you don't snare the dollar seats, you often pay as little as $8 to $10 for the same routes that cost $36 and more on Greyhound. A Los Angeles Times reporter recently made such a trip (from Los Angeles round-trip to San Francisco) for $11, and was accompanied by colleagues paying just a bit more:
To score my $11 fare, I booked three weeks in advance; Times staffers Richard Hartog and Mary Forgione, who accompanied me, booked 10 days in advance and paid $25 round-trip, plus a 50-cent booking fee. That was still a good deal when compared to Greyhound, with $75 round-trips; Amtrak, $100; and the airlines, $133.Jen Leo reports that Megabus, once again, is using brand new buses with seats placed so high that the trip is a sightseeing experience, revealing a high-up vista of the California countryside.
There are indications that Greyhound is starting to wake up and get concerned. That can be the only explanation for multiple announcements that its buses are being upgraded, terminals refurbished and cleaned up. Whether they'll offer $1 seats isn't sure.
So there you have it: two British companies returning to the colonies to show us a thing or two about low-cost travel. I'm indebted to Jen Leo for stressing the travel importance of both developments.
Write and read comments about this post.
Fifty years ago, 
Arthur Frommer is generally acknowledged to be the nation's foremost travel authority. He is the founder of the
