Virgin America finally starts selling tickets

After a very long wait, Virgin America has finally started selling tickets. The first flights are between it's San Francisco base and Los Angeles LAX and New York JFK on August 8. There is a nice launch sale, but perhaps not as stunning as might be expected. Several airlines have already responded with sales of their own.

At first their website was overloaded, but it seems to be working okay now.

I'm holding off making a booking at the moment, since I want to see whether the schedule changes, their on time performance and early reviews. This is particularly important if, as I will be, connecting to or from other airline's flights. All the fares I could find so far are non-refundable. Virgin America will need to provide more flexibility if it wants to attract lucrative corporate business.

A frequent flyer program, called eleVAte, is planned. Details are sketchy but it does sound similar to the Australia based Virgin Blue's Velocity program - earning based on revenue. No restrictions on awards. Award cost likely based on available fares.