Virgin America is launching service to Palm Springs International Airport (PSP) in California on December 15, 2011, offering a non-stop daily seasonal flight from San Francisco International Airport (SFO) to PSP and same-plane through-service linking Palm Springs with New York John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK).
Known for its reputation as “Hollywood’s Playground,” as well as for an enviable desert climate, resorts and golfing, shopping, special events and modern and mid-century architecture, Palm Springs will be the 16th destination in Virgin America’s network.
Virgin America will bring low-fare competition to the PSP market with a seasonal daily flight schedule operating from December 15, 2011 to April 30, 2012. Virgin America will offer daily nonstop intra-California flights from SFO to PSP and daily same-plane through-flights from New York to PSP.
To mark its expansion to Palm Springs, Virgin America has launched a “Get Some Playtime” fare sale with one-way SFO-PSP fares from $99 and one-way JFK-SFO-PSP fares from $199, not including taxes and government fees. The airline is also making available sale fares to the other destinations on its system.
Virgin America operates an all-Airbus fleet of A319s and A320s and by the middle of the decade could have 76 or more aircraft in service, given the size of its current fleet and existing orders
Sale fares are available for purchase at www.virginamerica.com and at 1.877.FLY.VIRGIN. Tickets must be purchased by 11:59 p.m. PDT on September 23, 2011 and require a seven-day advance purchase. Main Cabin short-haul fares start from $49 one-way, plus taxes.
“As the only California-based airline, we’re pleased to launch seasonal service to one of our state’s most popular getaway spots – Palm Springs and the surrounding desert resort cities,” says David Cush, President and CEO of Virgin America. “Our expansion to the region will inject some much-needed competition into the air travel market.”
Adds Cush: “With low fares and a quality of service that is unrivalled in the domestic skies, we hope our new flights will be a welcome breath of fresh air for Bay Area and New York travelers looking for an affordable escape to the desert oasis this winter. The destination also allows us to add seasonal capacity from our California base, as we continue to grow our network.”
“Known for our weather, unrivalled golfing, world class resorts and globally-recognized festivals like the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, the Palm Springs market is a perfect fit for Virgin America’s chic new flight service,” says Scott White, president and CEO of Palm Springs Desert Resort Communities Convention and Visitors Authority. “The airline’s new nonstop and through flights from both SFO and JFK will lower fares and improve service in our market – and allow more travelers to enjoy all that our unique region has to offer.”
Palm Springs, California and the other cities which make up the Desert Resorts destination, have a desert climate which guarantees sunny weather and the cities are nestled at the base of the San Jacinto Mountains. Palm Springs, Coachella, Cathedral City, Desert Hot Springs, Indian Wells, Indio, La Quinta, Rancho Mirage and Palm Desert offer streets lined with palm trees, high-qaulity shopping, art galleries and museums and outdoor dining – all amidst beautiful scenery.
In addition to luxury resorts and golfing, the region has welcomed an influx of hip boutique hotels and events such as the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in recent years. Palm Springs has a history as the holiday home of many Hollywood stars from the 1940s to the current day and is known as the center of “Desert Modernism” mid-century modern architecture. For more on the region, visit www.PalmSpringsUSA.com.
With seasonal service from December 15, 2011 to April 30, 2012, Virgin America’s daily San Francisco-Palm Springs schedule will see its daily flight departing SFO at 4:35 p.m. and landing at PSP at 6:05 p.m. In the other direction, Virgin America’s daily flight will leave PSP at 6:50 p.m. and arrive at SFO at 8:25 p.m.
Virgin America’s one-stop New York JFK-Palm Springs service is scheduled to leave JFK at 11:55 a.m. and after making a stop at SFO, arrive at PSP at 6:05 p.m local time. In the other direction, the daily flight leaves PSP at 6:50 p.m. for San Francisco and after making its stop there, reaches JFK at 5:55 a.m. the following day, local time.
Connecting flights will also be available at SFO from Palm Springs to Virgin America’s Fort Lauderdale and Washington D.C. destinations.
To find hotel deals in Palm Springs, click here.
Related to this story:
- Virgin America Announces Philadelphia as Its 17th Destination
- Allegiant Air Begins Stockton-Palm Springs Service
- Alaska Air to Fly Seattle-Kansas City, Horizon Air to Offer Palm Springs-San Jose
- Virgin America and Emirates Agree to Interline
- Virgin America to Serve DFW from Los Angeles and San Francisco
