SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 24 /PRNewswire/ -- Virgin America, the California-based airline that is reinventing domestic travel, today thanked the more than 5,000 frequent fliers participating in the 2009 Zagat Global Airline Survey who ranked the carrier best domestic midsize airline in both the premium class and economy class categories. Virgin America was not only rated best overall airline in its category, but earned a survey-leading score of 24 points for First Class service and 21 points for Main Cabin service - beating all U.S. carriers across all size categories. With one of the youngest and most fuel efficient fleets in the U.S., the airline also earned top marks for its sustainable practices. In addition, the carrier received praise for the usability of its Web site.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090123/VIRGINAMERICALOGO)

Launched in August 2007, Virgin America has won a list of reader-based awards, including top honors last month as "Best Domestic Airline" in Conde Nast Traveler's 2009 Readers' Choice Awards (a sample of +25,000 readers) and in July, "Best Domestic Airline" in Travel + Leisure World's Best Awards. The airline offers innovative amenities like touch-screen entertainment, power outlets and fleetwide Gogo=AE In-flight Internet.

Zagat's 2009 Airline Survey covered 16 domestic and 73 international airlines, as well as 30 domestic airports. The survey, conducted on ZAGAT.com, incorporates the opinions of 5,895 frequent fliers and travel professionals who collectively took 97,600 flights in the past year. Each airline was rated on Zagat's signature 30-point scale on its premium and economy class service. The airlines were rated on four aspects of performance: (1) Comfort, (2) Service, (3) Food and (4) Website. Other issues such as value, on-time performance, luggage and in-flight entertainment were also covered.

Virgin America received the top ranking within its size group for both its Main Cabin and First Class service. Full results for U.S. airlines are listed below, with point tallies where available. For a full list, visit: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/zagats-2009-airline-survey-shows-air-t ravel-decline-72530437.html

Midsize Domestic Premium Class: 24: Virgin America 21: Hawaiian Airlines 20: Alaska Airlines

Midsize Domestic Economy Class: 21: Virgin America Midwest Airlines 16: Hawaiian Airlines

Large Domestic Premium Class: 21: Continental Airlines 17: American Airlines Delta Air Lines 16: United Airways 15: AirTran Airways

Large Domestic Economy Class: 19: JetBlue Airways 15: Continental Airlines Southwest Airlines 12: AirTran Airways 11: Delta Air Lines

Virgin America's Red(TM) entertainment platform offers 25 films, live TV, interactive Google Maps, music videos, videogames, and an on-demand menu that allows guests to order what they want, when they want it. In May, the airline became the first to offer in-flight internet on every flight, and in October it joined forces with Google, to make WiFi free for the holidays. Virgin America maintains an industry leading on-time ranking, with an impressive 87.2% percent A-14 on-time performance reported for the third quarter of 2009.

In addition to a Main Cabin that offers custom-designed leather seats with a deeper, more comfortable pitch, the airline's First Class offers plush white leather seats with 55 inches of pitch and lumbar massagers. The carrier's premium Main Cabin Select option, offers 38-inches of pitch, complimentary food and cocktails, an all-access pass to Red's countless entertainment options, dedicated overhead bins and priority check-in/boarding.

Virgin America flies to San Francisco, LA, New York, Washington D.C., Seattle, Las Vegas, San Diego, Boston, Orange County and Fort Lauderdale. The airline offers daily flights from: SFO to LAX, SFO to JFK, SFO to SAN, SFO to IAD, SFO to LAS, LAX to JFK, LAX to IAD, SFO to SEA, SEA to LAX, JFK to LAS, BOS to LAX, BOS to SFO, SFO to SNA, LAX to FLL and SFO to FLL.

EDITORS NOTE: Virgin America is a U.S.-controlled, owned and operated airline. It is an entirely separate company from Virgin Atlantic. Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Group is a minority share investor in Virgin America.

About Virgin America: Virgin America is one of the fastest growing start-up U.S. airlines of all time. The airline's new aircraft offer interactive in-flight entertainment systems and power outlets at seat for electronic gear. Virgin America offers in-flight internet on every flight and hosts the largest in-flight entertainment library in the U.S. skies via its touch-screen Red(TM) system. The airline was named "Best Domestic Airline" in the Conde Nast Traveler 2008 and 2009 Readers' Choice Awards and in Travel + Leisure's 2008 and 2009 World's Best Awards. For more: www.virginamerica.com.

Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090123/VIRGINAMERICALOGO AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org/ PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com Source: Virgin America

CONTACT: Abby Lunardini of Virgin America, +1-650-533-7576, abby.lunardini@virginamerica.com

Web Site: http://www.virginamerica.com/