Video: Nightmare On Virgin America Flight

Virgin America has been winning over their customers for the most part, with WiFi and (allegedly) hot flight attendants... but now the airline is under criticism after it took 16 hours to travel from LAX to JFK. Or rather, from LAX to Stewart Airport in Newburgh, 90 miles north of JFK.

The Saturday flight was scheduled to leave at 7:10 a.m. PST and arrive in New York at 3:30 p.m., but the NY Post reports before arriving at JFK, passengers were stranded on a tarmac for seven hours due to high winds. During that time, food supplies got so low that Pringles were rationed out at 4 per person! And those (allegedly!) hot flight attendants turned ugly, one screaming at a passenger, "You are really getting on my freaking nerves! You need to shut the hell up!"

Finally JetBlue came on board their competitor's aircraft and declared, "Ladies and gentleman, we're here to get you off the plane." The heroes bussed the passengers to JFK, where they arrived around 3 a.m.—but as a final burn, the (empty) Virgin plane beat them there.

The nightmare was well documented thanks to that free WiFi! And the CEO of Kontain.com, David Martin, pretty much liveblogged the entire experience.

Between Martin's video updates and Carrie Ann Inaba's Tweets (the Dancing With The Stars star was also on board), Virgin America CEO David Cush apologized—and during calls with the two he promised every passenger would get fully refunded and receive $100 credits. And from the looks of it, Martin has turned this nightmare into a networking experience.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Jen Carlson in News on March 16, 2010 1:35 PM

Comments [rss]

CoffeeStat

I was on Flt. 94 Jet Blue to JFK that same day, due to arrive at 4:30pm. We to circled over an hour over the storm over JFK, and were also told of a possible diversion to Stuart Airport...

Then all of a sudden our pilot came on over the speaker told us we would be landing at JFK and that the next 10 minutes would be " a bit rough and to hang on he'd get us there"....that was an understatement. That plane was rocking back and forth in the wind, it was probably the scariest 10 minutes of our lives. When we landed with the right wing tipped toward the ground and then finally the pilot managed to get the left wheel down, did everyone cheer and sigh with relief.

I truly believe because we had a man with a medical emergency on board that the pilot was determined to get us to JFK. When we went to baggage and saw all the flights cancelled or diverted except one other from Aruba, we felt very fortunate to be on the ground safe.

When my husband and I walked off that plane my husband shook the pilot's hand for getting us all on the ground safely. I've flown Virgin and yes its got some great features, but it doesn't fly out of Oakland so it's not as convenient and I still rely on Jet Blue and they really did come thru for us on March 13,2010.

not from here

top notch filmmaking here...please confiscate this man's phone

artimustgone

Really? being on a plane for 16 hours to travel the full width of the continent is a "nightmare" and a "crisis?" You people are so boring I want to kill myself.

Sketto

I think the passengers should sue the weather for such high winds.

NannyState

This is why the major airlines hire meteorologists and cancel flights heading into epic bad weather. The smaller ones who just want the business try to gamble on this crap and voila! 7 hr.layovers,angry passengers, bad press, and refunds. Sucky airlines suck.

rolotomassi

David Martin posts everything that happens to him from the exciting to the mundane, and the media seems to over-sensationalize this particular post. Slow news day eh?

JenChungsBaby

This is why when traveling with a 4-year-old I always bring a 24 hour supply of food and clothes for him in a carry-on bag. Because when you get a plane you never really know where you're going to wind up or when.

butterbutter

why didn't the guy film the outrageous part? i mean the whole article is about how they all freaked out, but there is no evidence of that on the video.

seems a little fishy.

resa

People, people. This is why I never fly without a bottle of xanax.

Seriously, it sounds horrible.

samkim

Jet Blue > Virgin. More legroom/seatroom.

jles

JetBlue....most overrated airline EVER....but still probably 2nd place. If the only perk of your flight actually works, the TV, your still stuck close quarters in an awful seat to the person next to you. Virgin has leather seats, tons of legroom, free headphones, free wifi, no beverage/food carts in the aisles cause everyone orders seperately at their seats.....i mean, i'm just gonna stop.... You sir/ma'am are an idiot.

really!?!?

"Virgin has leather seats" So does Jetblue

"Free Head phones" So does Jetblue

"No bev/food cart" Neither does Jetblue

"Tons of legroom" I believe they have the same amount of leg room , but I have never measured.

So you are left with the free wifi, which is significantly less reliable then Jetblue's TV's once you take-off.

jaycjay

Lucky break for David Martin being on that plane! I've been familiar with Kontain since its inception, though a contact at Fi, so it'll be interest to see how much they manage to leverage this into PR, traffic, and new users.

And that's really what this story is about: An attempt to make Twitter seem like old news.

Abbott

The airline can't control the weather, but they can control how long they keep you held hostage. I would have been pissed after seven hours on the tarmac as well. If the weather is too bad to make it to JFK, kindly shuttle me to a hotel and call it a night.

personagratin

According to the Virgin PR people in this news article, the people were able to go to the airport terminal.

Assuming that's true, how nice of the NY Post to leave that out.

jaycjay

"the people were able to go to the airport terminal."

I've been on flights where that's happen. They let people leave to go to the terminal, but warn them that they shouldn't go too far from the gate. If the flight is suddenly cleared they'll only have a few minutes to return. The plane won't wait; they may be left behind.

So, with the flights I've been on, most people chose to just stay on the plane.

unterberg

klonopin to the rescue!

Alex

Yeah the video was pretty boring; I was hoping to see some airplane rioting, but being stuck on a flight for 16 hours is pretty damn inexcusable.

grandzu

With JFK closed, whats the airline supposed to do? If they canceled the flight, this bozo would be blogging about the chaos at the airport.

Ph

Did he seriously label this a 'crisis'.

I didn't know people who flew Virgin America were such softies.

JenChungsBaby

They fear deep vein thrombosis.

kafkask

yawn.

Seriously.

We've all been stuck on a bloody plane. Maybe not for 13 hours, but christ, it's not that exciting.

Blogging, live opr otherwise, has reached the peak of mundane.

tom9d

Eh, I'd still fly Virgin. Far and away the best airline I've ever flown for domestic flights. They even blow Jetblue out of the water, and I'd put Jetblue second on that list.

jles

One thing conveniently omitted from this story.... the 70+ mile per hour winds at JFK. This wasn't ALL Virgin America's fault...though it clearly appears they could have handled the situation better. I fly Virgin America as often as possible (I was actually on this exact flight Friday morning), and there isn't another airline that is even worth mentioning in the same breath. Virgin absolutely rules. But, if you ask me, sounds like they never should have taken off to begin with.