Q&A with Virgin's Richard Branson

Virgin America became the USA's newest airline when it made its inaugural flight last week (Aug. 8) from New York JFK to San Francisco.

USA TODAY's Ben Mutzabaugh was on the flight and sat down for a 20-minute interview with British tycoon Richard Branson, founder of the Virgin Group and Virgin Atlantic Airways. Mutzabaugh also posed questions submitted by Today in the Sky readers. Read on for a condensed transcript of the interview:

Question: What's your assessment of the first flight so far? (Asked about halfway through the flight).

Branson: I'm absolutely certain the thunderstorm (that held up the inaugural flight's departure) was some massive device concocted by American, United, Delta and Continental – their final attempt to keep us on the ground. I'm absolutely over the moon to be on the flight starting what we hope will be a complete revolution in the American airline business. I really think the American travelers have put up with a lot in the last fifty years. And I think the very fact that Virgin America is here, the other carriers will have to get their act together or they'll disappear. And that can only be good for the consumers, I think.

Q: Despite the government's initial concern about Virgin America's foreign ownership make-up, it seems like most airline customers have simply focused on the fares and service that Virgin America will bring to the U.S. market. We've also heard from many of our readers who submitted questions in Today in the Sky who say they simply hope Virgin America will raise the bar for other airlines. Is that gratifying to hear?
FIND MORE STORIES IN: American | San Francisco | United States | United | Delta | Virgin | Richard Branson | Virgin Atlantic Airways | Ben Mutzabaugh | UID | Virgin America

Branson: It's very gratifying. We obviously have to live up to it and I think we have lived up to it. I think if anybody gets on board a Virgin America plane …, they're really not going to want to get back on a legacy carrier again. So, we'll certainly set the bar very high. In America, about the only way of traveling by long distance is by air and the public deserves better.

Q: With all the delays and obstacles, why did you stick with it and not pull the plug? What kept you going? (Idea for question submitted by Today in the Sky reader prost77.)

Branson: I'm not the sort of person who gives up. And, you know, the industry as whole has not really changed for the better. The big carriers like American, United, Delta, Continental, etc. … they sort of stumbled into financial problems, they stumble into Chapter 11, they stumble out again, they stumble back in again. They don't really invest in product.

Therefore the opportunity hasn't gone away. Virgin goes where the consumer is taken for a ride and I think the consumer has been taken for a ride for a long time in the States. Taken for a ride in that they pay through the nose for a service that's not that great and they haven't been treated that well. So, I've always been convinced that if we could get a license to fly that ultimately we'd succeed.

Q: What's going to set Virgin America apart from other U.S. carriers? (General theme from multiple reader submissions).

Branson: I think it's everything. What I learned when I went into the airline business 21 years ago, is that the big things matter but the little things matter just as much. Let's start with a very little thing. Every single economy class seat enables you to plug in your computer if your battery runs down, something which most major carriers have not even thought about doing. In this day and age, that's very important.

Let's start with the big things. We'll have the youngest fleet and the most modern fleet of any airline in the world and we'll strive to keep it that way. Being really modern, being really young means our on-time departure record should be very good. Our maintenance record, obviously, will be very good.

Inside the planes, we've spent a lot of money and a lot of energy and a lot of experience over the years in making sure that the experience just feels good. You walk on the plane, it looks great. You sit in the seats, they're comfortable. You've got seats that give you decent legroom. You've got the best entertainment system in the world. We've reintroduced first class and a really good quality first class into flying. We're going to build something called a premium economy class which will be for people who want more legroom but can't afford first class. Though I hasten to say that our first-class price is tiny compared to the legacy carriers. The most expensive first-class ticket I think we've got is about $650.

We've got lots of fun things in the entertainment system. You can order your food from your seat. You can watch a film whilst you're ordering your food. You can chat with to people in the plane. You can play chess with other people in the plane. You can play poker with other people in the plane. You can comment on football matches that are taking place whilst you're watching them live on television with other people on the plane. You can chat somebody up on the plane, if they want to respond to you. If you got an empty seat next to you, you might be able to persuade them to come sit next to you. There's lots of little touches.

Q: What would you say to critics who would say that Virgin America's ownership structure is not in the spirit of U.S. law, even if it meets technical requirements?

Branson: My involvement in the airline, because of the U.S. law, is almost zero. In that, though I have an economic interest in the airline, I've got no voting shares. I've put all my shares into trust; They're voted by other people. If the American shareholders don't want me to fly on a Virgin plane, they can tell me I can't fly on a Virgin America plane.

But I do have an economic interest in this airline. I do have Virgin on the tail. If the American directors and shareholders ask me to come and help them put Virgin on the map in America, I'm happy to do so. … We've abided not just by the letter of the law, but abided by the spirit of the law. We've stood upside down, inside out – we've done everything necessary.

Q (modified from Today in the Sky reader Cantrex): Is the day coming sooner or later – or at all – when customers will be able to fly around the world on Virgin-branded flights from one continent to the next from one Virgin carrier to another?

I certainly never expected to be saying this: Bizarrely, you can now fly more places in more continents in the world on a Virgin plane than any other airline in the world. You have Virgin in Africa – Virgin Nigeria that flies throughout West Africa and it's just starting (in) East Africa. You can fly anywhere in Australia on a Virgin plane. You can fly to Australia, to Africa and to America on a Virgin plane. You'll soon will be able to fly from Australia to America on a Virgin plane. You soon will be able to fly anywhere in America on a Virgin plane. So, this little Virgin is quite proud of itself.

Q: Should United, American or even JetBlue be worried about Virgin America?

Branson: I think they've showed how worried they are by the efforts they took to smother Virgin at birth. They've gone to extraordinary lengths to make sure this Virgin was never born. All I can say this Virgin is not only born, but it's going to grow up into a beautiful woman like Virgin Atlantic did. I'm sure it'll have struggles Virgin Atlantic had. But I look forward to celebrating its 21st birthday like we celebrated Virgin Atlantic's 21st birthday last year. And I'll be just as pleased to cut the cake.

Q: When the first flight of Virgin Atlantic plane came to in New York back in 1984, you forgot your passport and that caused problems with U.S. customs. We've already had the rain today. Are there any other snafus that we haven't heard about?

Branson: I not only arrived without my passport (in 1984), but the mayor of New York had to swing a favor with customs to get me in. Having not met the mayor of New York, he then came to see me. I thought he was the waiter and asked if he could get me a drink. It wasn't a good start for our arrival in New York.

Q: So this start has been a little bit better?

Branson: So far, so good, anyway.

Q (adapted from Today in the Sky reader ERJ170): So far Virgin America has looked at cities like New York, Washington, San Francisco, Los Angeles – will those big first-tier cities remain the focus for the short-term expansion. Or will high-fare midsize cities like Cincinnati or Minneapolis that have a dominant hub carrier come into the mix?

Branson: I'm sure they'll come into the mix. If the people like the service, if people buy our tickets, if people fly our planes, and they want choice, then we'll broaden it out to many other cities. I think Virgin has an advantage that no other new carrier has ever had in America. It's the best-funded new carrier in the history of new-carrier launches in America. It's got the best-known brand of any new carrier being launched in America.

Virgin Atlantic, which also carriers the Virgin brand, is generally either the most-respected airline in the world. Singapore sometimes beats us, but we're up there in the top sort of two most-respected. We've got Virgin Megastores in most major cities, which people seem to enjoy going to. We've got a very successful company – Virgin Mobile. So the brand already resonates well with the people who brought you the Rolling Stones, Janet Jackson, the Sex Pistols, Culture Club, the Spice Girls … so our background is entertainment and we're bringing that entertainment to the airline business as well.

Q: So would you say this Virgin America is a customer service/entertainment business or is it a transportation company. Where would you say Virgin America falls on that spectrum?

Branson: Obviously, you need good people to run the nuts and bolts of getting planes to and from places. But, in the end, every plane is a bit of metal. What makes the difference is the imagination that goes on inside those planes. The motivation of the staff, the smiles from those staff – and that's what makes for a special airline. We're very much in the entertainment business as well as the transportation business.

Q: The American market is bit more conservative market than some of Virgin Atlantic's overseas markets. In marketing to the U.S. audience and figuring out how to sell to it, how has the American market been different than the ones you are used to marketing too?

Branson: I don't think it's an issue. We're just gonna be ourselves. Sometimes we'll be irreverent. You know, Singapore Airlines are great, but their crew can be a bit Stepford-girlish. Our crews on Virgin America, they'll joke with you. They'll answer you back in a friendly way. They'll banter with you. They'll smile. They'll have fun. That's very much the Virgin ethos – to have fun.