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SAN FRANCISCO, April 8, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — Virgin America, the California-based airline known for its fresh, award-winning in-flight cuisine, today launches its spring in-flight menu and joins with San Francisco International Airport (SFO) to celebrate the food at its new home at San Francisco International Airport’s Terminal 2 (T2). Virgin America is an anchor tenant at SFO’s new T2, which aims to be one of the most sustainable airport terminals in the world.  Part of SFO’s sustainability efforts included recruiting Slow Food® vendors that serve local and sustainably-sourced cuisine.  Today the airline announces the rollout of its new spring onboard menu in conjunction with the unveiling of new vendors at SFO which include restaurants from Food Network Host and Bay Area-based chef Tyler Florence and Iron Chef Cat Cora.

The food purveyors and restaurants in SFO’s next generation Terminal 2 (T2) fire up the ovens and display their wares today for a “Taste of T2″ – a special event highlighting the delicious cuisine options that will be available to passengers traveling through SFO.  Inspired by San Francisco’s historic Ferry Building, T2 offers a beautiful food marketplace and retail street featuring the best of the Bay Area’s retailers and restaurants offering locally-sourced, organic menu items.  T2 will feature notable local establishments such as Andale, Napa Valley Farms, Vino Volo, Peets Coffee & Tea and The Plant Cafe Organic. As part of SFO’s sustainability efforts, all T2 vendors are also required to use compostable utensils and containers.

Since its launch, Virgin America has aimed to serve local and sustainable cuisine onboard.   The airline’s menu helped it capture the “Best Domestic Airline for Food” award in Travel + Leisure 2009 World’s Best Awards.

Virgin America’s menus are crafted using an assortment of sustainable and fresh ingredients, including local fruits and vegetables, premium meats and artisan breads.

The new Main Cabin and Main Cabin Select menus are available “on-demand” to Virgin America flyers via the airline’s innovative touch-screen seatback entertainment platform.   The Red ™ In-Flight Entertainment system allows travelers to order a variety of cocktails, snacks and meals right from their seatback touch-screen any time during a flight.  Virgin America is the only airline in the U.S. with a touch-screen seatback menu that enables “anytime” ordering during a flight.

SAN FRANCISCO, March 15, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — Virgin America, the California-based airline that is reinventing flying today announces Elevate, Inc., a corporate rewards program aimed at small and medium-sized businesses. Since its launch, Virgin America has attracted a loyal following of business travelers for its award-winning service and business-friendly amenities.  The airline has taken top honors for ‘Best Business/First Class’ for three years in a row in Conde Nast Traveler’s annual Business Travel Poll for its upscale service, fleet-wide WiFi, standard power outlets and uniquely business-friendly onboard experience.  Elevate, Inc. is designed to reward companies that spend a minimum of $20,000 per year on travel with Virgin America with a generous reward program ensuring future travel discounts.

“We are pleased to expand our rewards program beyond the individual and toward rewarding small and medium-sized businesses.  Our airline is known for its entrepreneurial spirit and innovative amenities and we are proud to be the airline of choice for savvy business travelers as we continue to expand into major markets like Dallas-Fort Worth and Chicago,” said Diana Walke, Vice President of Planning and Sales for Virgin America.

Since launching in 2007, San Francisco-based Virgin America has signed over 150 larger corporate travel partnerships – with much demand across the high-tech, media, entertainment, bio-tech and financial sectors for the airline’s upscale, business-friendly service.  As a participant of Elevate, Inc., now smaller businesses that spend a minimum of $20,000 a year on Virgin America travel can earn 3 percent of total spend on Virgin America flights at the end of each year, which will be automatically applied to future travel.  Companies have the option of booking through their travel agent’s Global Distribution System, or directly through the Virgin America Web site.

As of today, Virgin America is also offering special fares to its new business markets including Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) and Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD).  For DFW flights to and from San Francisco International Airport (SFO)and Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) fares start from $99*, restrictions, taxes and fees applying .  DFW fare sale tickets must be booked by March 21, 2011, and travel must occur between March 29, 2011 and September 6, 2011. ORD-LAX and ORD-SFO fares start from $179**, restrictions, taxes and fees applying.  ORD fare sale tickets must be booked by March 21, 2011, and travel must occur between May 25, 2011 and September 6, 2011. Tickets are on sale today and can be purchased via Virgin America’s Web site (www.virginamerica.com) and at 1.877.FLY.VIRGIN (1.877.359.8474).***

Virgin America offers business travelers inventive amenities, including WiFi, standard power outlets near every seat and a first-of-its-kind on-demand menu.  The airline’s mood-lit, custom-designed new cabins offer the Red™ entertainment platform at every seat. The Red platform features over 700 hours of media content, including live TV news (like CNN and CNBC) and offers travelers the ability to order food and drink at any time during the flight right from their seatback.