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: Michigan’s roads
Several counties in Michigan are opting to grind deteriorated paved roads into gravel roads rather than re-pave them. The money’s just not there. That’s progress!

Downgraded: U.S. treatment of international visitors
Because international travelers to the United States, who are already subjected to fingerprinting, photographing, and prying questions galore, apparently haven’t been treated sufficiently like criminals… Homeland Security is now launching a pilot test of fingerprinting visitors as they leave the country as well. Be treated like a criminal when you come in, be treated like a criminal when you leave. Just lovely. Foreigners departing from Atlanta or Detroit will have the pleasure.

Upgraded: Free wi-fi on Virgin America June 24
Google and Virgin America are teaming up to offer a day of free inflight wi-fi, online games, and other hijinx.

Downgraded: Extended Stay Hotels … and the Federal Reserve
Extended Stay Hotels, the parent of Extended Stay America, Crossland Studios, and Homestead Studio Suites, filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy. And who’s left holding the bag? The Federal Reserve!

Downgraded: United Mileage Plus
United Mileage Plus has been on a downward trajectory for some time, but Gary Leff pinpoints the absurdity of United’s blocking of frequent flyer tickets on partner airlines. The airline doesn’t want to make those tickets available because it costs them money when you use your miles on partners. But other Star Alliance airlines don’t block partners like this. It’s a United-specific problem, and it’s getting absurd. Gary writes: “In the last two days I’ve been told ‘Lufthansa doesn’t fly to Frankfurt’ and (looking for flights departing Hong Kong) ‘Thai Airways doesn’t fly to Bangkok that day.’” It’s insulting.

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Downgraded: Virgin America
Fun while it lasted, but Virgin America is starting to charge luggage fees like the old-school airlines have been doing for the past year. On the other hand, they sure let you check a ton of luggage: “$15 for the first checked bag and $15 for the second through tenth checked bag.” Tenth?!!

Upgraded: Dumbass tourist complaints
The Daily Telegraph offers up some linkbait with its list of 20 dumb tourist complaints. (Warning: it’s a slideshow, so it takes 20 clicks to read them all. I know you try to sell advertising with higher pageviews, guys, but it’s annoying, and no one sees the ads if they just keep clicking through the slideshow…) My favorite complaint might be: “It took us nine hours to fly home from Jamaica to England it only took the Americans three hours to get home.”

Upgraded: Yapta
Fare-tracking site Yapta will now track hotel rates, too. Since you can generally cancel a hotel reservation and book a new one at the lower rate, this could come in handy.

Upgraded: Pilot-cam, from 1909
Who knew that there existed first-person motion picture footage from a Wright Brothers plane? Wilbur Wright is at the controls in this 1909 film. It’s an amazing piece of history (sorry, copyright prevents embedding the video here).

Golden Age, Golden Books: Travel back in time through the power of kids’ books
Children’s book protagonist Gordon experiences the magic of 1961 air travel: “Gordon ate steak and baked potatoes and lots of dessert — the things he liked best. ‘Food tastes good when you’re high in the sky,’ he said.” Cut to 2007, and little Gordon is a bitter man who can’t get an upgrade, but insists on calling the flight attendant “stewardess.” (Thanks, Brownlee!)

Sweet spot: Buy tickets in advance, but just not TOO far in advance
FareCompare.com CEO Rick Seaney busts a myth: That buying WAY far in advance is a great way to save money. Rarely true. Instead, the best time to really start shopping is about four months before your flight. One big reason: While most airlines sell tickets up to 11 months in advance, Southwest Airlines only sells tickets 4 to 5 months ahead. And since Southwest has enormous pricing power, their competitors don’t even bother trying to compete.

Your 15 minutes were over 20 minutes ago
Richard Branson never met a camera he didn’t love. Apparently neither did Kyla Ebbert, Southwest’s miniskirt bandit. Branson used Ebbert as a PR prop for Virgin America’s new service to Vegas. Classy. But hey, goofy photos result. Why is Branson dressed like a priest? Oh, screw it. It’s only egging him on.

Ryanair-style airline coming to transatlantic travel
Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary plans to start a discount airline that connects Europe and the U.S. It won’t be Ryanair, just a lot like it. Always the opportunist, O’Leary plans to wait until other airlines are in trouble, and then buy their aircraft on the cheap.

Skybus dropping West Coast?
Skybus looks like it might drop its flights to California and Washington, focusing instead on its shorter flights. Maybe that’s a good thing. Do you really want to deal with 29″ of seat pitch for a cross-country flight?

How to cut to the front of the security line
This isn’t advice I want to try out, knowing that the TSA has the habit of compiling dossiers on travelers. But Christopher Soghoian, of fake-boarding-pass generator fame, posts his tip on how to get to the front of the TSA line: Refuse to show ID. Instant supplemental screening (SSSS)! And to those wondering, yes, you can refuse to show ID and still legally fly. Print-and-save (pdf).

Your hard drive is a weapon
Since when are external hard drives a threat to security? Sigh.

Upgraded and Downgraded: Virgin America to add inflight wireless internet …and voice
Virgin America will feature inflight wireless internet access on its planes, by working with AirCell (the same company that will roll out inflight wireless on American Airlines’ 767s). Jaunted reports that some unnamed features will be free, too.

Great, right? Well… there’s a catch. Skype is on the list of planned features. Hell is your seatmate shouting, “Guess where I am! No, guess! I’m on a plane!” Screaming madmen yelling at jilted lovers in faraway places could soon be sitting right next to you, laptops open, vocal cords ablaze. Bring the earplugs!

Upgraded: Singapore Airlines reveals its surprisingly spacious A380 layout
The Airbus A380, when packed to the gills with nothing but economy seats, could carry as many as 853 people. The normal three-class provision is estimated at 555 seats. But Singapore’s layout will only feature 471 seats, thanks largely to a boatload of extra-wide business class seats, much like the ones pictured here. To get a glimpse of the seatmap, Click here. Note that the economy class seats on the lower level are configured 3-4-3 and the upper level has them at 2-4-2.

Upgraded: The UK’s Travelodge
Downgraded: Home
An elderly British couple has been living in a Travelodge motel room for over twenty years. Talk about extended stay! Travelodge in the UK is not the same company as in the US. I’ve never stayed in the UK variant, but for their sake, I hope it’s better than the stateside chain. (via BoingBoing)

Upgraded, finally: Lufthansa economy-class entertainment
Lufthansa’s calculus has always seemed to be, “Should we give placate people in economy class with decent in-seat entertainment, or should we liquor them up for free? Let’s go with the liquor!” (Other airlines, say, Virgin Atlantic, have managed to do both, but let’s set that aside…) They’re finally reconsidering the entertainment options, if only on three routes. Still: Thank the heavens. My favorite real-world example of bad Lufthansa inflight video, broadcast on those overhead screens: A decade-old episode of the German crime drama “Derrick,” with an episode title that translated to “Rose on a Dump.” I’m not making this up. (Couldn’t they have shown the episode “Pornocchio” instead?)

Upgraded: Airbus A380 delivery dates
Singapore Airlines, the first airline to take delivery of its Airbus A380 mega-jumbo, is officially taking delivery of the plane on October 15, 2007. The first flight, from Singapore to Sydney, is scheduled for October 25.

Downgraded: The real Virgin America story
Virgin America knows how to play the PR game. No news there. But when the chips are down, they still need to figure out their schedule and customer service. But hey, the entertainment is decent. Mark Johnson of Jaunted flew a PR-free flight with Virgin America last week, and has the full report.

Downgraded: Charlotte security
Upgraded: Charlotte’s ability to bounce back
Charlotte Airport TSA agents let someone through security without screening. Flights delayed, passengers inconvenienced, etc., etc. But one thing I can tell you: The delays weren’t long-lasting. Later that same day, I caught a flight from Charlotte to LaGuardia, and it was all fine.

Downgraded: Hotel bathroom amenities
The China recalls keep rolling in. And now, hotel amenities are due for the seemingly inevitable report of poison. Gilchrist and Soames toothpaste is conveniently flavored with antifreeze. (I’ve seen G&C products, but never their toothpaste. My loss.) Better check that bag or box of mini-soaps, shampoos, etc. that the frequent traveler inevitably has stashed in their home. Toss the ‘paste.

Downgraded: Bellsouth/AT&T
It’s hard to blog without an internet connection. The BellSouth idiots first mistakenly shut down our dial tone but kept the DSL running. We called for service. They came, turned on dial tone, and shut down the DSL. Thanks. Great. Not once — not once — has BellSouth (now merged and rebranded AT&T) gotten one thing right on this phone line on the first try.