Virgin America

NY-based Buzzd and Virgin Mobile have announced a new partnership that will bring the buzzd local city guides to the Virgin Mobile customer base. The service is named "buzzd on Virgin Mobile" and will provide event information to major cities around the U.S., Europe and India.

Using the location features of the mobile device, buzzd can provide information about the location you are currently at and find hot events near you. The new service reminds me of another location-based service we covered, Sense Networks. The content on buzz comes from sources including Flavorpill, TimeOut and Zagat.

Standard text and data rates apply when using the Buzzd service. My mother uses Virgin Mobile and her screen is TINY - how she could use a city guide on the phone is beyond me. In fact, if I remember when I picked out the phone for her, all of the Virgin Mobile devices have small screens.

I normally don't post deals on CN but this one was just too hot to pass up. Announced earlier this week, Virgin America is giving Diggnation viewers a deal - 2 for 1 pricing. Details are below. And don't worry, they won't single you out and laugh that you watch Diggnation as you board. (deal is open to anyone). Since Virgin America flys from SFO to JFK, LAX, LAS and IAD, it's a perfect option for those pizza runs and for those getaways to the casino to spend your Series A round.

Here are the deal details (note that CN makes bupkus on this, just sharing with all of ya):

Restrictions, taxes and fees apply - *Digg Promotion: Promo Code discount is only valid for two guests traveling on the same itinerary. Offer ends at 11:59pm Pacific Time on December 7, 2007. Promo Code is valid for travel in the Main Cabin between November 26, 2007 and March 19, 2008. Blackouts are December 19, 2007 through January 6, 2008, February 14, 15 and 18, 2008. If travel is changed to a date outside of this window, or if itinerary is modified so that there are not two guests traveling on the same flights, Promo Code discount will become inapplicable, and guest will be responsible for any increase in air fare. The Promo Code may be used only towards newly-booked travel and may not be applied to prior bookings. Promo Code discount will be deducted off of base fare. Promo Code may not be redeemed for cash. Offer may not be combined with any other sale or promotion.

Check dates and trips on the Virgin America site. I wrote about Virgin America upon their launch and called them smart for leveraging (read: sponsoring) some of the larger blogs to get instant street cred. And don't forget to use TripIt and Dopplr for the trip plan!

A few years ago I had the chance to fly on Virgin's Upper Class to Europe. The experience was amazing. From 10 inch tv's to lie flat beds, the british accents to a full wet-bar and the mood lighting to in-flight beauty (I picked the massage), Virgin made the expereience something I will never forget. (and it was on miles folks, don't think I can afford a cash fare)

When Virgin America launched here in the U.S., their billboards around NYC looked the same as those from U.K. Virgin. They seem to do everything right. Lower fares, bigger seats, more power, individual seat video, etc. The feeling is on those signs that the U.S. carriers just can't match. And their most popular route just happens to be "Silicon Alley to Silicon Valley".

Today Virgin America announced a partnership with Boing Boing to bring Boing Boing TV to the seat back video on VA's planes. Brilliant. From what I can tell it's a great fit for VA and BB.

So why do I think Virgin America is smart? Easy. What did it really cost for VA to bring BB onto the planes "exclusively"? Probably not much and what happened is a buzz-event. Blogs are writing about the news, bloggers already typically like Branson/Virgin (except Liz who said the lighting sucked). It's a great way for VA to instantly become relevant in the new media space and with their trans-continental routes that the techies need, its a smart mix.

It's interesting to note that the only other carrier that has individual video on all flights is JetBlue and on some flights is Delta.

As you launch your startup, think outside the blinders -- the best deals lie out there.

(this also makes me wonder if we will see a Boing Boing channel on Dish Network soon - just a hunch since Virgin America uses Dish - you heard it here first :)