I read an article on Wired about Virgin America, a new U.S airline that aims to provide low-fare, high-quality service for “long-haul point-to-point service between major metropolitan cities on the Eastern and West Coast seaboards”.

From the article, it seems like Virgin Airlines has really taken the time to think about and create the best User Experience possible. A 9-inch display screen on every backseat lets you order fresh food and drinks, watch Hollywood movies on demand, and play games among other things. Seats are also equipped with a 110-volt power supply for Notebook users, USB connectors for charging USB-powered devices like iPods, at least 3000 MP3s onboard every flight, comfortable coach class seats, mood lighting, and plenty of legroom. Did I mention first class seats all have massage chairs?

Does Virgin Airlines website reflect their high quality in person User Experience? As I reviewed earlier this month on JetBlue, one of the primary tasks visitors will perform on the site is booking a flight. Like the majority of airline sites, the homepage has options to search for flights, check a flight’s status, and check in for a flight as well as seeing the latest deals. But there are some notable differences as well.

When selecting a date, a calendar that shows 2 months ahead pops up. Sites like JetBlue and Southwest only show 1 month. Which is better? For someone like me, who likes to plan ahead and book a few months in advance than I would say it is more convenient. For those who typically book a few days before, they still see the current month, so it’s a win-win situation. One other difference that I really like is a prominent link that answers some questions dealing with everything from booking unaccompanied minors, persons with disabilities, big groups, or even pets! These are common situations and questions people may have and it’s nice they don’t have to go looking around the site to get their answers.

When selecting a flight, prices are shown for the selected date as well as other days close by. Scrolling down also moves down the sidebar, which displays the trip summary. The information the potential buyer needs is always available and in plain sight.

You are then able to select a seat with a view of the plane seating arrangement and status of each seat. My only gripe might be that selecting a front row seat pops up a message that it is a premium seat with an additional 13 inches of knee room and costs $15 more. While I understand the reasoning and the prices are entirely justified, it was not something that I was expecting. First class seats on the other hand, which go for around $100 more, are preconceived to be more expensive.

While I have yet to experience a flight with Virgin America, I can’t wait to try it out. Their website exceeded my expectations and I think it does a great job of transferring their brand identiy to the web. I only wish that their cities weren’t so limited but if they have service in a city that I will be flying to, I’ll be using Virgin Airlines, just for the experience.