Not too long ago, we were attempting a trip to San Francisco. As soon as we got to SeaTac, we found that our flight was somehow already an hour and a half late. The employees at the ticket counter, civil without being friendly, couldn't get us on another flight, so we got some food and a drink and watched our delay get longer. Eventually, it was time to board (on what was now the last flight to SF), and of course, we ended up sitting on the plane for an hour while there were refueling issues. The pilot announced that the fuel switch could be fixed, but by that time, the crew would be "illegal," and so our flight was now canceled. Lovely. We exited the plane to deal with another unfriendly employee who literally rolled her eyes when we asked for something more than a mere refund of our tickets. All in all, those five hours at the airport were a nightmare. Surely, we thought, there's got to be a better way.

Don't call us Shirley, but now there is: starting last week, Virgin America has three flights daily from Seattle to San Francisco (service between Seattle and LA starts next month). We rescheduled our trip to SF for last weekend and took Virgin both ways with nary a problem. In fact, both our flights left on time, and--here's the kicker--actually got in a few minutes early each way. At $73 each way, there's no good reason to fly Alaska or United instead.

VA's luggage tags give a clue to their philosophy. Along with a space for name, address, and phone number, there's also a spot for you to list your "favorite thing." And with the friendly, personable attendants both at the ticketing counter (where you get a wee, pocket-sized boarding pass) and on the plane, it's pretty clear they'd like their airline to warrant a listing. The self check-in area is a white glossy table with sleek touch screens, more modern and cosmopolitan than what you'll see with the other airlines, an indication of things to come. Because when you get on the plane (Airbus 320) itself, everything is white and sleek and new. There's blue and purple LED mood lighting, good to soothe the savage airport beast. At the same time, there's looping ambient music (in the bathroom even), which we could do without, though we're sure it also helps to reduce the rageahol.

But what you really notice on the plane, besides the plush leather seats that offer back support (the huge white ones in first class go one step better, in that they're massage chairs), is the big seat-back screens which host Red, VA's top-notch in-flight entertainment. This service really has it all, and yes, it's even better than Jet Blue's. You've got satellite TV, on-demand movies, radio stations, 3000 mp3s, games (including Doom), a constantly updated Google map of your journey, and the ability to IM or chat with anyone else on the plane. (Your remote flips over to become a QWERTY keyboard and gamepad, and word is that internet and email will be available soon.) Plus, the media player keeps track of everything you've been doing, so you can easily switch between your mp3 playlist, a game, and Cartoon Network. Red also has food service, allowing you to order snacks or extra beverages from your seat, which the attendant will deliver (eventually). Virgin America is, like Frontier, a cash-free airline, so if you're ordering food or a movie, you just slide your card through the reader on the screen or the remote, and you don't have to wait for the flight attendant to make change.

A couple more bonus features: every seat includes a 110v outlet, ethernet jack, and a USB port. The USB ports are good for charging your iPod or phone, but you can also plug in a keyboard to use with Red, rather than dealing with the tiny one on the remote. There's also an indicator so you know when you're able to use electronic devices, as well as when you should have your seatbelt on.

Red is not without its quirks. The system can lock up, and at least on the flight out, there were a few people around us who needed theirs rebooted. The program guide for the TV serves as a guide only and you need to scroll through the channels manually to select one. However, the animated safety video shown before the flight was well-done and a good way to shift a requirement to something that is genuinely entertaining, thanks to their tongue-in-cheekiness ("for the .001% of you who haven't used a seatbelt, here's how it works....").

The selection of mp3s is wider than expected, with artists ranging from Arcade Fire to !!! to The Wiggles, Duke Ellington, Arvo Part, Kanye, and Sun Ra. There's a lot of depth there too: the selections for Radiohead included tracks from every album *and* a live version of "True Love Waits." The same sort of depth was present for any of the big artists. U2, Madonna, Prince, Springsteen, and Bowie all had ~20 songs apiece spanning their entire careers. Obviously (and predictably), Virgin America's got a good music guy. In fact, there was so much entertainment available, the flight went by in no time. Coach is still kinda cramped (except for the row directly behind first class), but you don't mind it as much when you've got so many distractions at your disposal. We didn't even have to read once.