Virgin America is no Virgin when it comes to the friendly skies. Dubbed the “flying lounge” by bloggers, the airline itself claims to be part of a global mission to “challenge the status quo and stand up for our guests.” With crying babies nestled happily in their bulkhead bassinets, and a bitchin entertainment system to help drown out the token snorer, who can doubt their effectiveness.

Headquartered in the Bay Area and providing 2,000+ jobs, Virgin America is the only major airline that calls California home. Here passengers kick it in double padded leather seats with a generous 32 inches of leg room, and bask in the glow of funky colored lights that were designed to emote feelings.

While other airlines are busy implementing nit picky baggage fees and pedaling freeze dried goods on squeaky aisle carts, Virgin is kicking some industry ass by serving up a new menu of fresh healthy food and allowing passengers to order via touch screen. No more crappy airline snacks! Select your dinner, drinks, snacks, booze, all with the flick of a finger. Swipe your card from your seat, and the flight attendant will serve you moments later. No cart, no hassle, bing bang boom. Why leave that laptop at home when you can plug it in to the 110v outlet next to your seat? Below that outlet is an Ethernet and USB port, so no worries about running down your ipod battery. The 9-inch widescreen hosts satellite TV, over 25 pay-per view movies, and some cool British sitcoms. Since you are stuck in that seat, you might as well also make use of the gaming controls on the QWERTY keyboard, the 3000 MP3’s, or text other passengers on the Airborn Social Network. Need access to your email? No worries, Virgin Wi-Fi is launching this month (LAX and SFO flights to start)!

If all of this is does not convince you to go Virgin, here’s more. Virgin’s founder, Bazillionaire Richard Branson just helped launch the first biofuel flight from London to Amsterdam, fueling a Boeing 747 with coconut oil. Branson is the same guy who has dumped money in green start-ups and offered a 25 million dollar reward for anyone who can create a technology that will serve to clean greenhouse gasses from the atmosphere. This makes Virgin, not just a plush choice, but also a conscious one.

So there you have it, in a crappy snack nutshell, Virgin America isn’t just bad ass, but it kicks some serious ass in an industry where most airlines are just fighting to stay alive.
[Virgin America currently services: San Francisco (SFO), Los Angeles (LAX), San Diego (SAN), Seattle (SEA), Las Vegas (LAS), Washington, DC (IAD), New York (JFK).