Sir Richard Branson and David Cush Talk About Virgin America Airlines

In an exclusive interview with Premier Guide Miami, Sir Richard Branson, Founder and President of Virgin Group, and David Cush, President and CEO of Virgin America, discuss the airline's groundbreaking green initiatives, algae-based fuel research, touch-screen cabins, and the new Fort Lauderdale route. Premier Guide Miami sat down to find out what that means — and what comes next.

In an exclusive interview with Premier Guide Miami, Sir Richard Branson, Founder and President of Virgin Group, and David Cush, President and CEO of Virgin America, discussed the groundbreaking initiatives and future plans of Virgin America Airlines. With a focus on environmental sustainability and exceptional customer service, Virgin America is set to challenge its competitors in the airline industry.

As a pioneer in the green initiative, Virgin America has been at the forefront of environmental responsibility since 2009. They were the first airline to actively reduce their carbon footprint, implementing practices such as minimizing the use of auxiliary power units, single-engine taxiing, and idle reverse landings. Additionally, Virgin America utilizes advanced avionics and cost-index flying to reduce fuel consumption.

"All the profits we make from our airlines, we invest in alternative fuel and we have come up with a fuel that is a completely clean fuel which we believe will power our planes," Sir Richard Branson told Premier Guide Miami. "We are hopeful that our planes will be flying with that in the future — it is an algae-based fuel."

PGM: Share with us some of the new features on the Airbus 319.

DC: It puts your entire travel experience in your hands. We have touch-screen entertainment, power outlets at every seat, and fleetwide Gogo In-flight Internet. We operate one of the youngest fleets in the US with mood-lit, custom-designed cabins featuring Red — the most advanced entertainment system in the skies. Red's seatback platform offers 25 films, live TV, interactive Google Maps, music videos, videogames, and an on-demand menu. In the main cabin we offer custom-designed leather seats with a deeper, more comfortable pitch. First Class offers plush white leather seats with 55 inches of pitch and lumbar massagers.

PGM: Travelers have been complaining about lost luggage and extended runway sits. How will Virgin America address those issues?

DC: From our operations end, we are very much on top of things. Our baggage numbers are number one — they are 70 percent lower than the industry average. A lot of it has to do with the fact that we are a point-to-point carrier. We don't offer connections, and that's where failures happen. People want nice airplanes, they want friendly crews, they want to get from point A to point B safely, with their luggage.

PGM: What is the next venture for Virgin America?

DC: The next city will probably be Chicago. We tried getting in before and had some trouble, but we think we can get in this time.

Virgin America flies to San Francisco, LA, New York, Washington D.C., Seattle, Las Vegas, San Diego, Boston, Orange County, and Fort Lauderdale. For more information, visit www.virginamerica.com.

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