Whether we realize it or not, there’s a race going on in the skies above us. With the advent of wireless Internet access creeping into what once our sanctuary of solitude at 37,000 feet has now become a domain for self-righteous dingbats to livestream their flights for all to see.

Leading the way is Virgin America who announced today that they are the first airline in all the land to offer Aircell’s Gogo in-flight Wi-Fi service on every single flight. To mark the occasion an air-to-ground Skype video call will take place with thee Oprah Winfrey herself and will air on Thursday the 21st. VoIP calls aren’t allowed on any Virgin America flight, but, you know, you can’t say no to Oprah or she’ll eat you.

Pricing for Gogo on Virgin America flights start at $7.95 for handheld devices, $9.95 for flights less than three hours and $12.95 for anything over. If you’re on a red-eye then need only muster up $5.95, which is a steal for those on transcon flights.

A few weeks back I hopped onto my first Virgin America flight with Aircell’s Gogo service on-board. It wasn’t the first time I’ve reviewed Gogo and if you recall I was on the first commercial Gogo flight with American Air. The plan was to interview James Weatherson, Virgin America’s inflight entertainment engineer, while I was up in the air, but there was a scheduling mix up and the interview never went down. So we opted to do it the old fashioned way. Below is my brief conversation with James about Red and where it’s headed.

CrunchGear: Other than some content changes, I haven’t seen a whole lot of new stuff for Red. What can we expect to see this year from VX?

James Weatherson: Actually, we’re now right in the middle of a Red software upgrade that will allow us to create an even more robust entertainment content platform at every seat. Our platform is actually pretty new and ambitious for a system at 37,000 feet in-flight, so the upgrades that will go live this Summer are mainly focused on improving functionality, reliability and the speed of the Linux-based system. We’re aiming to increase the speed of the system and usability, as well as allow us to further build out the content platform. So we’re planning more video games, movies and other content in the latter half of 2009 thanks to these upgrades. And we’re also making some changes that came as suggestions from guests who emailed us in-flight via the Red feedback in-box, like being able to listen to your music play-list and play video games at the same time and giving business travelers receipts for their food – so when they swipe their credit card at their seat, they’re emailed a receipt. You’ll be able to do that as of June. The former is a relief for me, as the sound effects on DOOM for some reason get super annoying when you reach hour three of a transcon flight.

CG: Are the shopping and book services going live this year?

JW: Yep, once we get these software upgrades in place we plan to go live with the Shop platform in late 2009, with the Read section to follow. Stay tuned.

CG: I heard a nasty rumor that VX was thinking of getting rid of the touch-screens because the majority of passengers don’t know how to use a touch-screen. Any truth to that?

JW: No, we don’t plan to go retro on you on Red. Most of our guests are pretty tech-savvy and a lot of them have an iphone or other touchscreen PDA on them when they fly, so they work the system just fine. We do actually mention the importance of a “soft touch” in both our in-flight guide (attached) about the Red system and our flight teams also mention it when they explain how the system works. It has not really been a problem, but the interface just works better with light tapping, as opposed to thumping – just like an itouch or iphone. However, we are disabling the touch-screen on the games only, as the remotes just work better – that change goes live with our Summer upgrades in June.

CG: Maybe VX should make a video for people to watch that shows them how to use the touch-screen. I know I can’t stand people who sit behind me and punch the screen. What do you think?

JW: I like the video idea! We’ve got a depiction of that in our in-flight guide (PDF), and the caricature is of our head of web marketing, Jen Larson, because it is her pet peeve. If we do a video, we got to think of an appropriate spokesperson who could demonstrate that almost anyone can use Red. Maybe a Miss USA contestant?

CG: Anything else we can look forward to that you can talk about?

JW: We’re focusing pretty aggressively on our fleet-wide WiFi roll-out. We’ll be the first and only airline to have it on every single flight by this Memorial Day (it is now on 24 of 28 planes). And we just became the first airline to offer absinthe in-flight. Although, on second thought: the image of guests twittering at 37,000 ft while drinking absinthe is somewhat disturbing.

Come chat with me on Ustream on my Virgin America flight and watch people walk by! I’ll be turning on my camera every hour or so and I’ll be chatting live from 35,000 feet.

I’ll also be IMing with Virgin America’s IFE engineer James Weatherson around 6PM PT today and I’ll post a transcript. He’s in charge of the Red entertainment system on-board all VA flights and we’ll find out what we can expect to see from the in-flight entertainment system this year.

If you have any questions you’d like me to ask him, feel free to leave a comment.

Update: If you feel like chatting on AIM then hit me up at crunchtips, kids.

Update 2: James wasn’t able to join us, so we’re going off the air. We’ll update if he manages to get online. Otherwise, we’ll have an in-person interview later this week.

Virgin America

It’s not every day we get a chance to sit down with one of the world’s richest and most industrious men. Actually, Sir Richard is only the 236th richest person in the world according to Forbes. I thought he’d be higher. *shrug* Anyway, we had the esteemed pleasure of taking Sir Richard’s IM interview virginity last week as he was jetting back to his private island, Necker.

CBS’ The Early Show’s Dave Price was also onboard to broadcast weather updates from a Virgin American flight and kept pulling Sir Richard into one segment after another. It got to be really annoying after a while.

Sir Richard: Richard here. This is pretty cool!

CG: Good morning, Sir Richard!

Sir Richard: Communicating with you from 35,000 feet.

CG: That’s exciting.

Sir Richard: Nice to meet you again.

CG: Thanks for taking time out of your busy schedule to chat with me this morning. First things first. What was with your outfit yesterday at the Boston launch for Virgin America? We’re all dying to know.

Sir Richard: I was invited by Harvard’s Hasty Pudding to appear on their Saturday show. But back on Necker then so decided that the San Francisco flight was the most appropriate place to audition for the next time I’m in town.

CG: Where are you now? Where are you off to?

Sir Richard: seat 1A. About to do a wing walk.

CG: Heh.

Sir Richard: Off to an environmental conference on Necker. Setting up a carbon war room. Strange place to announce that on a plane! Burning up a lot of fuel.

CG: What gadgets are you carrying with you, Sir Richard?

Sir Richard: I’ve got a Virgin Mobile UK phone and a BlackBerry.

CG: So it’s fashion week here in NYC and my better half asked me to ask you this. Would you consider partnering with emerging designers to produce VA uniforms or apparel?

Sir Richard: Funny you should mention that. CBS’ early show is coming back onboard in March and we thought we’d do a fashion show with new uniform ideas and maybe the history of flight uniforms.

CG: Why don’t you consider routes such as Charlotte to Cleveland worthy of VA’s great service?

Sir Richard: sorry — Dave Price is talking to me. I think I have to go — we are about to shoot the next segment.

[That bastard Dave Price.

A few minutes later…]

CG: Speaking of environmental issues. How is the Virgin group adapting to the changing climate? How was the bio-fuel flight? How committed is the Virgin group to green tech or is it all talk? Will your commitment expand to your luxury liners, balloons, etc.?

Sir Richard: We are very committed to cleaning up our dirty fuels business. Thank you for mentioning the bio fuels flight; we are also flying planes made of carbon composite. And we started an investment fund called Virgin Green Fund that invests in clean tech. One of them is Solyndra, which I am sure will be one of the largest solar companies in the US over the next three years
A flight attendant is on my lap right now. We are getting ready to do another segment.

CG: You’re a lucky man.

[A few minutes later…]

CG: Would you mind elaborating a bit further?

Sir Richard: The airlines will continue to do what they can to offset their carbon footprints, make progress in developing alternative fuels, and work with partners that are environmentally responsible. Each of them is committed to contributing all of their profits into clean energy investments. On that front, I already mentioned that Virgin Group has a stake in Virgin Green Fund, which raised funds and is now making investments in clean technology. Again, one of them is a low cost solar panel company called Solyndra, which will be one of the largest solar companies in the US in the next three years. The other area of growth is likely to be the energy storage side – electricity can be sent from California to New York with minimal loss but right now it can’t be efficiently stored for more than a few hours. With innovation on that side, the way we think about energy storage will change significantly.

CG: Will Atlantic implement in-flight wi-fi or cell phone service (like British Airways has done)?

Sir Richard: BA are only doing in-flight wifi for data, not voice, on their yet-to-be launched service from London City Airport. Virgin Atlantic will announce wifi in due course, but we’re not likely to do cell phone service as I don’t think our long-haul flight passengers would appreciate it. Would you?

CG: I’d end up punching them in the face.

Sir Richard: Me too! (JK. That’s just me, Peter, joshing around. Sir Richard didn’t actually say that.)

CG: I know you folks are about to land, so here’s one last question.

CG: How have you revised strategy, particularly Virgin America’s, to accommodate the dismal status of the economy?

Sir Richard: When you offer a better product than your competitors – and at the best price — you’re going to do well, even in a downturn. That said, Virgin America has some key strengths in this climate: a fuel efficient new fleet, a streamlined low cost business structure, and the best and most friendly employees you’ll ever meet. Virgin America is also growing; right now, you don’t want to be worried about shedding 1/3 of a clunky old fleet and network. They’re also continuing to focus on the customer — which is the first thing the other guys start neglecting. People aren’t going to stop flying; they’re going to look for a better value, and that’s what Virgin America does best. Also, Virgin America have got a revenue platform in RED and the GOGO wifi service. Customers are willing to pay more for a good product – they’ve seen this with cocktails, food, and a third of some flights paying for Internet access.
note: Virgin America will be the first domestic airline to offer wifi fleetwide by the second quarter.

CG: Oh, one last question. Can I come visit you on Necker Island? I saw it on Cribs.

*crickets*

Doug Aamoth reporting from Logan International Airport in Boston, Massachusetts. Today in the B terminal I saw some good-looking New England Patriots cheerleaders, a good-looking Maria Menounos, and then everything went all haywire when two guys in bumblebee tutus showed up followed by Richard Branson dressed like a patriotic psychiatrist’s wet dream.

Check out the video above and the photos below for all the delightful hoopla. Virgin will be flying three daily roundtrips between LA and Boston and two daily roundtrips between San Francisco and Boston with Wi-Fi on every flight and fares starting at $109.

Virgin America [VirginAmerica.com]

Like this video? View more here…

Virgin America, my favorite domestic airline, is launching service to and from Boston today with three daily routes from LA and two daily routes from San Francisco. This is important for those traveling between Boston and California because all flights to and from Boston are equipped with Aircell’s Gogo in-flight Wi-Fi service.

In anticipation of the Boston launch, Virgin America asked Boston residents to nominate a non-profit agency in the area that was doing good and changing things for the better. And tonight in Boston, Sir Richard Branson will donate $25,000 on behalf of Virgin Unite (the non-profit foundation of the Virgin Group).

Virgin America’s and Virgin Unite’s selected non-profits:
v Green for All is committed to building a green economy that will help lift people out of poverty. The group focuses on connecting underserved communities to the emerging green economy through job creation and training, including projects in New Bedford. http://www.greenforall.org/

v KIPP Academy Lynn is a free public middle school modeled on the nationally recognized, tested and proven Knowledge is Power Program, a network of not-for-profit charter schools that prepares underserved kids for college. Virgin America has been a KIPP partner since 2007. http://www.kipplynn.org/about.php

v StandUp For Kids, Boston is a national all volunteer non-profit that has been active for 19 years, and works in the Boston area to get kids off the streets and to make a difference in the lives of at-risk and homeless youth. http://www.standupforkids.org/local/massachusetts/Boston

The top voted “revolutionary” non-profit on www.revolutiontakesflight.com:
v The Friendship Circle of Sharon teams up teens with special needs children. Now in its 15th year, the non-profit is powered by hundreds of teens who volunteer their time to engage special needs children in a wide range of activities and to provide their parents with respite and support. http://www.sharonfriends.org/

The runner-up in the popular vote was Boston Medical Center’s pediatric at-risk unit, the SPARK Center, which offers comprehensive, state-of-the-art medical care for Boston’s most at-risk children. www.bmc.org/spark

The following aircrafts are Wi-Fi-enabled:

638
529
530
521
522
526
629
525
527

Also, here’s video from the Boston press conference…

I don’t know about you guys, but $109 for a flight from NYC to the west coast is dirt-cheap. Sure, airline flights are neither gadget-y nor gear-y, but VA has Wi-Fi-enabled flights and Doom on-board. Just book your transcon flight by February 17th and fly by April 1st. Virgin America flies from NYC’s JFK to Las Vegas, San Diego, Las Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle.

For those traveling between LAX and JFK, you’ll be happy to know that VA is offering flights between June 17th and July 22nd for only $105 each way. Score!

Virgin America

Our buds over at Jaunted just gave us the heads up that Virgin America will begin rolling out Aircell’s Gogo service, which we reviewed back in August, on November 22. The “beta” flight will take off from SFO, VA’s HQ, to JFK. Virgin plans to roll out the in-flight broadband service on one plane per week with a full rollout scheduled by March 2009. Oh, and they won’t be filtering the service either. The RED system will eventually be wired in as well, but we won’t see that happen until later on in 2009.

Heh. Not really. But I am bummed out because I missed Virgin America’s first “Superfly Wednesdays” from NYC to LA because I’m sick. As most of you know already, VA’s in-flight entertainment system, RED, allows seat-to-seat messaging and this would have been the perfect opportunity for me to send a little message to Jaslene Gonzalez, a previous winner of America’s Next Top Model, and tell her how much I think she’s a biotch (she’s in the middle). But I’d tell Caridee English, also a previous winner of ANTM, how hot she is (the one on the left). I have no idea who Whitney Cunningham (on the right) is, but she was, apparently, a contestant.

There are four more SW’s scheduled so I suggest you jump on a flight and check it out. Mix, mingle and network your little heart out in LA, Las Vegas, and San Francisco.

It’s that time of the year, again. School’s out, for some, and it’s time for a vacation with the family. The cost of airfare seems to be quite horrendous as of late so you might as well take advantage of what you can. Virgin America, my personal favorite, is having a short and sweet sale on airfare until May 23, but you’ll have to travel by June 25 to take advantage. They currently fly to Seattle, Las Vegas, San Francisco, San Diego, NYC’s JFK, Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles. You may not have a reason to fly right now, but it never hurts to look because you never know.

I’m sitting in the Virgin America gate at JFK waiting for my flight to Seattle and I come across this tidbit of news. I’m both stoked and bummed at the same time. I’m stoked because this is a pretty rad deal for Mariner’s fans and I grew up rooting for them, which explains my hatred for the Yankees, but I’m bummed because I forgot my DS at home.

If you’re unfamiliar with the Nintendo Fan Network, it’s a network for DS owners at the ballpark that gives you player stats for the home and away teams, MLB updates, and SMS/chat service with other DSers in the stadium. You can also order food, watch live video, listen to radio coverage from KOMO and compete against others in mini-games and trivia. A new feature launching this weekend is Pitch Effect, which will let fans see the trajectory of each pitch, speed and placement.

It was tested last year and fans had to pay $5, which is probably the cheapest thing you’ll find at the ballpark, but its free this season. Awesome. Someone in Seattle want to take me to a game and let me borrow your DS?

Once again, Virgin America is having a bonanza on airfare until the 25th so long as you fly by June 11th. So cash in now and fly on the dopest gadget-friendly airline in the US. Yours truly will be boarding a VA flight Wednesday morning for Seattle and I can’t wait. To refresh, VA flies into and out of Seattle, NYC, LA, SF, DC and SD.

Today, we’re interviewing Charles Ogilvie, the Director of Inflight Entertainment and designer of RED.

CG: Why did you pick linux for RED?

CO: Linux is very stable and agile. We were able to pare down the embedded seat-back side to only the libraries we need, license a container app and then write the code needed to tie everything together

Which distribution are you using?
Flavors of Red Hat & Fedora (we have embedded seat-back units, seat & distribution boxes and a head-end that consists of some file servers)

How long was it in testing?
We’ve been developing it for 4 years and it has gone through numerous iterations. Before a new version is released, it is tested on a simulation rack

Did Microsoft approach you about running Windows on the back end?
We’ve talked with a lot of software vendors.

What was the hardest part about creating the system? Was it the software? The hardware?
The hardest part is maintaining agility. The beauty of the architecture is that we can continue to move forward, innovate and constantly look for additional areas to add new, unprecedented functionality like our inflight food ordering system or seat-to-seat chat.

Why don’t more people use Linux in high traffic situations like this?
I don’t know. They should.

How often does it crash? The Linux machines, not the planes…
Resets or reboots occur in different areas. Because we are trying different open source games, we do notice issues with porting them for example. Over time, we work through those issues. Our inflight team members (flight attendants) have the ability to reboot seats. The seat units also monitor themselves and can reset themselves if they freeze or lose connectivity (a heart-beat) with the head-end.

What’s the deal with the in-flight chat? Why was that included? Have people connected through that?
Seat-to-seat chat and TV-Chat are some of the most fun features we have. We’ve had everything from people striking up great conversations with other guests in chats to groups using it laugh and have fun while watching the same program. The whole idea behind it is to allow a sense of community to take place in a typically confined, airborne environment. I cannot wait for broadband and the chance for our passengers to chat with the ground

What’s in store for the future besides in-flight Wi-Fi?
The ability to compose a music-video playlist is pretty cool and on the horizon. The READ section is also awesome in that it takes what is typically a bunch of wasted trees (excess newspapers, periodicals) and allows us to be more environmentally friendly and timely with things like news/event info/sports/entertainment etc.

Katherine Lee is the new face of in-flight safety for Delta and it’s a welcome change from the monotony we’ve been subjected to for the last couple decades, but are her pouty lips and good looks enough to make you pay attention?

I sure as heck won’t. I struggled to get through the video just now. It’s still the same boring presentation and I will continue to ignore it, if I ever fly Delta again. I’ve flown enough to know the routine. My time is better spent listening to music, reading my Kindle (I think it’s BS that I have to turn it off for landing and takeoff), playing some DS or blasting e-mails and texts.

I much prefer Virgin America’s safety video. I still ignore it 80 percent of the time, but I still chuckle during certain parts of it. Song Airlines, before Delta ate them up, had a great stable of rotating safety videos set to different musical themes. I think the last one I saw was a samba mix.

What about you?

Go on. Give it a try. You have until March 14.

Virgin America

*Service to and from Seattle doesn’t start till next month.

Virgin America

Today Continental announced that they will be offering Wi-Fi, but it will be the same crippled mess that you’ll find on JetBlue. It’s not all bad, though. The agreement with LiveTV will also bring 36 channels of live TV directly to your seat via DirecTV. First-class passengers will receive the service (TV) for free while passengers in economy-class will have to muster up $6. The Wi-Fi service I just mentioned will be free. It’s free because it sucks. I’ll wait for AirCell’s service on American or Virgin America.

Press Release