Four “Virgin” airlines, based in the UK, US, and Australia, are joining forces to create what may be the start of a fourth global airline alliance. Virgin Atlantic, Virgin America, and the already-partnered Virgin Blue & V Australia are joining forces to create what amounts to the groundwork for a new airline alliance.

It’s still very early, but if things go as planned, this could lead to a real competitor to Star Alliance, oneworld, or SkyTeam. (For better or worse… Alliance provide earning/redemption options and some timetable efficiencies, but they typically also include anti-consumer price collusion, through anti-trust exemptions. And Virgin’s Richard Branson has been vocally anti-alliance, until now…)

While a global-Virgin alliance makes perfect intuitive sense, it’s actually surprising, considering the contentious corporate history of the Virgin franchise in the US.

When Virgin America launched, its very existence was challenged by competitors and the US Dept. of Transportation, which initially ruled that the company didn’t meet the threshold of minimum US-ownership for an airline. After some tinkerings with the corporate structure, and replacing the CEO, the airline was allowed to fly.

So you’ll soon have reciprocal earning and burning privileges on each of these airlines, and through their respective partnerships as defined by each program. (Virgin Atlantic has the most extensive range of partnerships at this stage of the game.)

Details still need to be fleshed out a little, but here’s what their release states:

As of today, guests flying on Virgin Atlantic, Virgin America, and V Australia/Virgin Blue are all eligible to earn miles or points for their flights that can later be redeemed under any of the carrier’s frequent flyer programs. The reciprocal agreements enable Virgin Atlantic’s Flying Club members to earn Flying Club miles/status points; Virgin America’s Elevate members to earn Elevate points; and V Australia/Virgin Blue Velocity members to earn Velocity points — wherever they are flying on a Virgin-branded carrier around the world.

Also as of today, Virgin Atlantic Flying Club members and V Australia/Virgin Blue Velocity members can redeem their miles on either of the airlines. V Australia/Virgin Blue Velocity members and Virgin America Elevate members will be eligible to spend their miles or points to fly on either airline as of the fourth quarter of 2010. Virgin Atlantic Flying Club members and Virgin America Elevate members will be eligible to spend their miles or points on either airline as of the second quarter of 2011.

How good this alliance ends up being for consumers remains to be seen. For now, it’s not a huge win. Virgin Atlantic’s Flying Club isn’t the greatest program — you don’t earn full mileage on low-fare tickets, and as Wandering Aramean reminds us, they charge hefty fuel surcharges on mileage tickets.

But keep your eyes on this. It could get big.

Downgraded: Upper Class, upstairs, on Virgin Atlantic
Upgraded: Economy Class, upstairs, on Virgin Atlantic
Like many airlines, Virgin Atlantic has been cutting seats in business class, in response to the economy’s woes. But the upstairs section of the 747 has always been sacred space for the premium-cabin travelers. Until now. The airline will slowly roll out “configuration 4,” which moves some regular economy seats to the back of the upstairs cabin. Virgin Atlantic Upper Class loyalists will object to the lack of exclusivity. Which, in turn, should be an improvement for economy customers who get the service boost of a small cabin.

Upgraded: Consumer rights for “mistake” fares
As I’ve argued in the past, it’s sometimes impossible to know if a low fare is an error, or just a deal. (1 cent fares, anyone?) So I’m pleased to read that, in the U.S., the federal government is warning airlines that they’re (at least partially) on the hook for mistake fares. The DOT ruled: “We believe that all airlines should accept some responsibility for even the erroneous fares they publish.” Customers with canceled tickets must now be “made whole,” though this doesn’t mean that tickets will be honored. Still, a good move.

Downgraded: TSA’s mad redacting skillz
Seth, over at the Wandering Aramean has been digging through a document detailing the TSA’s standard operating procedures. The document was redacted, but Adobe Acrobat doesn’t delete the text hidden behind the black boxes. Oops. Now the TSA says the policies were never implemented, after all. (Then why were they posted, and redacted?) Seth has links to the original documents on his site.

Upgraded: Continental systemwide upgrades for top-level elites
In a further alignment of Continental OnePass with United MileagePlus, Continental is systemwide upgrades and a double-secret invitation-only ultra-elite level for high-spend elite frequent fliers.

Upgraded: United’s long-range aircraft… eventually
After slicing and dicing their fleet over the years, and recently killing off their 737s, it’s finally time for United to look at renewing their fleet. They’re ordering 25 Boeing 787s and 25 Airbus A350s, which will replace their 767s and 747s, respectively. …in 6 to 9 years.

Upgraded: Business reasons for business travel
Take this with a grain of salt the size of a Rubik’s Cube, but the U.S. Travel Association announced that research they commissioned shows that “every dollar invested in business travel generates an average $12.50 in increased revenue and $3.80 in new profits.” Slightly more specifically, “Executives cited customer meetings as having the greatest returns, approximately $15-$19.99 per dollar invested, with conference and trade show participation returns ranging from $4-$5.99 per dollar invested.” The entire report — which is based on a survey of perceptions of the impact of travel — is available here.

Upgraded: Baggage allowances on Gulf Air
This isn’t something you’ll see in North America anytime soon: Gulf Air is raising the weight limits for passengers with (complimentary!) checked baggage, effective October 1, 2009. And the increases aren’t small: +10 kg (22 lbs), in each class. That raises the total weight limits for First, Business and Economy to 50 kg, 40 kg, and 30 kg, respectively. Silver-level frequent fliers in Gulf Air’s frequent flyer program get another 15 kg; gold members get another 20 kg. Individual bags are still limited to a whopping 32kg (70 lbs) each.

Upgraded: Virgin Atlantic’s website
Sure, airline websites have been selling hotel reservations and rental cars. But now Virgin Atlantic is trying to go further by offering “add-ons” like passports and visas. Services are provided by CIBT, either via the Virgin website or call center. (Or, perhaps more accurately, centre.)

Upgraded: Paperless boarding passes at US airports
The number of airlines and airports that permit scanning boarding passes from your mobile device keeps increasing. The TSA blog compiles the who/where. Here’s the bottom line, airlines and airport codes:

Continental: IAH, DCA, EWR, BOS, AUS, SAT, CLE, LGA, LAS, SFO, ORD, LAX, SAN, FLL, TPA, PDX, PHX, CLT, MSY, RDU, MCO
Delta/Northwest: ATL, LAS, MEM, MSP, DET, SLC, CVG
Delta only: LGA
Northwest only: IND
Alaska: SEA
American: ORD, SNA, LAX

Upgraded: Punishments for abusive passengers in-flight
The FAA is increasing the size of the penalties it levies against unruly passengers, like the man who “dropped his pants and exposed himself to the female passenger sitting next to him, then punched her, according to an FBI affidavit.” Good.

Downgraded: United unplugs customer complaint phone line
The Indian call center that took United Airlines passenger compliments or complaints is being shut down, in favor of going entirely e-mail. “United spokeswoman Robin Urbanski said the airline is able to respond better to customers who write, since they often include more detail, making it possible to provide a more specific response.” Not to mention that sending a form letter response is faster than having a real conversation. And I’m positive every disgruntled passenger appreciates the convenience of requiring them to take the time to write, rather than make a quick call from the road… Sure.

Upgraded: Transatlantic deals on Virgin Atlantic
Virgin Atlantic has a great sale going on right now over the pond, with economy fares as low as $453 round trip including taxes, and premium economy for as low as $675. Best part: No advance purchase. Buy today, leave today! But fares aren’t just last-minute fares, either. But no summer fares. You’ll find the cheapest prices from Feb 11, 2009 – Mar 22, 2009 or Oct 22, 2009 – Nov 30, 2009.

Downgraded: $0 airfares
I’ve always felt that companies should honor the prices they publish. And in an era of airlines that pay you to fly them, why wouldn’t a passenger think that a $0 airfare (plus taxes) was legit? Alas, tickets booked on Northwest at that last Wednesday fare aren’t being honored, unless the passengers are already mid-trip.

Upgraded: Inflight wi-fi live on Southwest
If you’re flying Southwest today (Wednesday, Feb. 11), check to see if you’re flying on aircraft #901. It’s the first plane equipped with inflight wi-fi. The plane is routed OAK-ONT-PHX-SAN-OAK-SNA-PHX-OAK-PHX. And while the service is being tested, the wi-fi is free.

Downgraded: Reading, Geography, Responsibility
A Thomas Cook travel agent mistakenly booked a passenger to San Juan, Puerto Rico, instead of San Jose, Costa Rica. SJU instead of SJO. Bad mistake. But didn’t the traveler bear any responsibility to check the tickets — or heck, figure this out at the departure airport?? I love her quote, though: “I looked around the airport, saw posters of Puerto Rico everywhere, and thought: ‘What am I going to do? Where is Puerto Rico? Where am I?’” Yes, “where is Puerto Rico.”

Downgraded: Surprise
Headline: “Surprising number of companies cut travel spending.” Umm, “surprising”? Have USA Today’s editors been so insulated from the economic crisis that they’re shocked that travel spending is cut back?

Upgraded: Job applications on Virgin Atlantic
The unnamed author of this complaint letter to Virgin Atlantic, who ranted against the food served on board his flight from Mumbai to Heathrow, has been offered a new job: food tester for Virgin. Call me biased, but I still like Robert P.’s letter to Midwest Airlines better. (“You have chunks in your beer.”) Hey Robert, get any job offers lately?

Upgraded: Air Canada’s forms and applications
Remember the requirement that overweight passengers on Canadian airlines need to get a doctor’s note in order to get a second seat at no additional fee? The form that doctors must fill out is priceless. It’s practically designed to make both doctor and patient uncomfortable and embarrassed. To wit:

Have your patient sit on a paper covered examination table. Rest a ruler or straightedge on the left side of patient at the widest point (hip or waist) as shown on diagram below.

Mark the touch point between the ruler and the paper as Point A. Rest a ruler or straightedge on the right side of patient at the widest point (hip or waist). Mark the touch point between the ruler and the paper as Point B. Measure the distance between Point A and Point B. Indicate this measurement above under d) Surface Measurement.

(via)

Upgraded: Extended stay hotels, again
Hilton is adding a new chain to its lineup: Home2 will be a new extended-stay brand, with an intended price point around $100 a night (less than the existing Homewood Suites brand in the Hilton family). The development cost is estimated at $70-75,000 per room. Launch locations are in Alabaster, AL, Baltimore/White Marsh, Charlotte, Elko, NV, Gadsden, AL (Alabama, again!), Jacksonville, NC (not FL); New York City, and three locations in San Antonio.

Upgraded: Ease of investing in a money-losing industry
Warren Buffett once said, “…if a capitalist had been present at Kittyhawk back in the early 1900s, he should have shot Orville Wright. He would have saved his progeny money.” Well, the assume that ol’ Warren isn’t putting money into in the new exchange-traded fund that invests in airline stocks, including 30% in non-US airlines. The symbol for the Claymore/NYSE Arca Airlines ETF: FAA. How clever. But will the folks at Proshares come up with a double-short airline ETF?

Upgraded: The return of all-business class New York-London flights
Maxjet, Silverjet, and Eos may be gone, but British Airways is bringing twice-daily all-business class flights between London and New York back to the air. The twists: 1) The service is on the smallest plane yet to fly the route, an Airbus A318. Not ’19. Not ’20. Forget ’21. ’18. 2) Instead of Heathrow, Gatwick, Luton, or Stansted, this flight will use the very centrally located London City Airport, which thusfar has only been used by regional jets to short-range destinations. 3) They’ll allow wireless text messaging and e-mail on board, but not phone calls. (hat tip Jared Blank)

Airline employees in the UK have gotten canned for making derogatory comments about their airline’s passengers on Facebook.

A group of Virgin Atlantic employees criticized the airline’s jet engine maintenance, complained about cockroaches on planes, and referred to passengers as “chavs.” This led to the firing of 13 cabin crew. The airline’s statement included:

Virgin Atlantic can confirm that 13 members of its cabin crew will be leaving the company after breaking staff policies due to totally inappropriate behaviour.
[...]
Following a thorough investigation, it was found that all 13 staff participated in a discussion on the networking site Facebook, which brought the company into disrepute and insulted some of our passengers.

What are “chavs,” the non-British readers may ask?

Chav, or Charv/Charva, is a mainly derogatory slang term in the United Kingdom for a person whose lifestyle, branded casual clothing (especially if counterfeit), speech and/or mannerisms are perceived to be common, proletarian and vulgar. ‘Chav’ is often used as a stereotype to refer to white, poorly educated, aggressive youths, but youth and aggression are not the defining attributes of a ‘chav’. The term is similar to America’s ‘white trash’ stereotype.

Not to be left out, British Airways ground staff at Gatwick were also found to be using the same term to describe their passengers on Facebook. Added bonus: “They also have little time for celebrity passengers and their ire is also drawn by ‘stupid American accents.’” Delightful!

Complaining about customers is the great pastime of thousands of workers. Witness websites like NotAlwaysRight.com. But participants in those sites tend to be more careful — no names are named. By doing this on Facebook, Virgin and BA employees were sticking their necks out there.

These are not exactly positive model employees, clearly. Having said that, is criticizing the company a firing offense? The cabin crew may have been perfectly pleasant with their passengers, while they seethed quietly inside. So should the company have fired them for something they did in their free time?

The question goes to you: Did the company go too far in firing these crewmembers for the comments they made online? Or does the employee’s obligation to maintain decorum extend to the online space?

Hit the comments!