San Francisco -- Virgin America, the nation's newest low-fare air carrier, began taking reservations yesterday despite a cyber attack on the airline's website.
The denial-of-service attack, by unknown individuals, shut down the airline's online reservations system for a few hours yesterday. But Virgin America continued taking reservations by telephone, and the website was back in full operation today.
In a denial-of-service attack, hackers commandeer innumerable computers, unbeknownst to their owners, and direct information requests to a single website, thereby overwhelming the website's ability to respond to legitimate users.
Virgin America plans to begin service Aug. 8 with nonstop flights on its flagship route between its San Francisco International Airport hub and New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport. The price for a one-way ticket starts at $139.
The airline will also begin flights between San Francisco and Los Angeles International Airport the same day, with prices starting at $44 one way.
Los Angeles-New York service is schedule to begin on Aug. 29, with service between San Francisco and Washington's Dulles International Airport to begin Sept. 26. In October, Virgin America plans to extend service from San Francisco to Las Vegas.
The carrier plans to serve 10 cities within about one year and up to 30 cities within the next five years.
Virgin America is offering a simplified fare structure, with one-way fares, like Southwest Airlines, and no Saturday night stay requirements. The airline claims its walk-up coach fares are up to 60 percent off existing last-minute coach fares, and first class fares are up to 50 percent below what most legacy carriers charge for coach.
Virgin America's aircraft will feature leather seats designed to serve passengers' high-tech needs, with an electrical plug-in at every seat and multi-media entertainment equipment on seatbacks that contain a 9-inch, wide-screen monitor. Passengers can order food from their seats, watch movies or television on demand, listen to music, and plan their travel itineraries using Google maps.
The airline's planes are also equipped for high-speed, wireless Internet connectivity. The company said it may offer Internet service beginning the middle of next year.
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