Admit it.  The terrorists have won.  At least when it comes to travel.  The anxieties and realities of this post-9/11 world have sucked almost all of the joy out of a day of commercial air travel. 

But I recently discovered, to my surprise and delight, that there seems to be one domestic airline that’s making a valiant attempt to breathe some life into the air travel experience.

For years, my big three airlines have been Continental, United, and Northwestern.  Since my economic station in life condemns me to flying coach, I’ve grown used to crappy movies, pathetic or nonexistent available food, and seats best suited for The Lollipop Guild. 

Imagine my shock when I showed up at the airport to board my LAX to JFK flight.  It was to be my first time on Virgin America.  And as I went through the various paces of my travel day, Virgin surprised me over and over.

The very first sign I saw at the check-in counter game me a hint as to what was to come.  These days every airline has a little placard warning you that if your carry-on bag is too large, you’ll have to check it.  Virgin executes this necessary disclaimer with a bit of humor.  Their version of this sign reads:  “While impressive, if your bag is over the size limit, you’ll have to check it.”  Granted, this is a small thing, but making me smile just a tiny bit while receiving this otherwise bland information was something I noticed.  I realized that someone at Virgin was actually thinking about the flight day from the customer’s point of view.

Next was my seat assignment.   I got to the airport early, I was able to score an aisle on an exit row.  For a big guy like me, the extra space this change brings is practically like getting an upgrade to business class.  And here’s the kicker:  it didn’t cost me any extra.  For years now, Continental and United have required you to pay extra for these very desired rows.

The good news continued as I went to the gate.  In addition to the traditional gate counters, I noticed that Virgin had an unexpected bonus attraction:  Several customer service kiosks, featuring live humans . . . in the gate area!  Just in case I needed any help!  It turns out that I DID need help, as I’d cleverly lost my boarding pass with my shiny new seat assignment. 

Even boarding the plane was easier.  Unlike most airlines, who announce the various boarding groups through their garbled PA systems, Virgin’s announcements were complimented by a large, clear video display reminding you which groups could currently board.  Just got back from the long line at Starbucks?  You don’t have to bother a dazed fellow passenger for an update about which groups are boarding.  Just check out the handy video screen.  Again, a small thing, but I noticed it. 

Once on the plane, it just got better. 

Food: Instead of the choices being either “Nothing” or “This vague chicken thing we’ve just warmed up for everybody, ” there was an actual menu.  With, uh, what do they call those things?  Oh, yeah, choices. 

And instead of waiting until the flight attendants felt like doing the ancient ritual of serving the entire plane (sorry, the entire coach section) in one glacially-paced pass through the cabin, they respond to you when you make one of those afore-mentioned “choices” from the menu!  It was fantastic!

And of course there was the personal video screen with a million choices for entertainment, free and otherwise, including, thank you, games.

It really feels like the honchos at Virgin really sat down and deconstructed the modern middle-class airport/airplane experience and asked themselves the question:  How can we take every step of this experience and make it better?  Make it more elegant, or fun, or responsive, or whatever?  It couldn’t have been an easy project.  But the results are telling.  And that’s why I’m telling you.

And that’s why I am now a Virgin American Frequent Flyer member.