• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
Best in Business Travel

Virgin America named best airline for business travel in U.S.

By
Fortune Editors
Fortune Editors
and
Travel + Leisure
Travel + Leisure
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Fortune Editors
Fortune Editors
and
Travel + Leisure
Travel + Leisure
Down Arrow Button Icon
September 10, 2015, 10:00 AM ET
Virgin America Flight
SAN FRANCISCO, CA - JANUARY 12: Passengers on a Virgin America flight to New York stow their bags January 12, 2014 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Robert Nickelsberg/Getty Images)Robert Nickelsberg—Getty Images

Virgin America claims the top spot among U.S. carriers in the Best in Business Travel survey again this year.

For our second annual survey, Fortune partnered with Travel + Leisure to ask readers about their habits and brand preferences while traveling for work. They named their favorite airlines and rated them using a variety of criteria, including customer service, frequent flier programs, in-flight class experience, food and entertainment options, and airport lounges.

Here’s what’s keeping Virgin America ahead of the competition:

• Two words: live streaming. Satellite wi-fi recently launched on 10 A320s, with more to come. Internet speeds are eight to 10 times faster than any other in-flight system.

• Plush full-size pillows and duvets have spruced up an already standout first-class cabin, complementing the white leather seats and lumbar massagers.

• Its Elevate loyalty program has a “no blackout date” policy—and is a boon for those looking to book on major holidays and during peak travel periods.

• Virgin is the only U.S. airline with on-demand food ordering. Just press a button on the seat-back touch screen, settle in, and wait for your artisanal cheese plate to arrive.

See below for rankings of U.S. airlines by survey categories.

Best U.S. Airlines for Business Travel — Overall

An employee prepares a Virgin America Inc. Airbus A320 plane for take off at San Francisco International Airport (SFO) in San Francisco, California, U.S.

1. Virgin America
2. Alaska Airlines
3. JetBlue Airways
4. Delta Air Lines
5. Southwest Airlines

Best Customer Service

Baggage carts are towed to a Southwest Airlines jet in Little Rock, Arkansas.

1. Virgin America
2. Alaska Airlines
3. Southwest Airlines
4. JetBlue Airways
5. Delta Air Lines

Best Airport Lounges

Travelers relax at the Delta Sky Club in the Delta Air Lines Inc. Terminal D at LaGuardia Airport (LGA) in New York, U.S.

1. Delta Air Lines
2. American Airlines
3. United Airlines

Best Frequent Flier Program & Alliances

Travelers wait in line at JetBlue Airways Corp.'s Terminal 5 at John F. Kennedy International Airport.

1. Alaska Airlines
2. Southwest Airlines
3. Virgin America
4. JetBlue Airways
5. American Airlines

Best Economy & Premium Economy In-Flight Experience

1. Virgin America
2. JetBlue Airways
3. Alaska Airlines
4. Delta Airlines
5. Southwest Airlines

Best Business & First Class In-Flight Experience

Seats sit in the first-class cabin on board an American Airlines Group Inc. Boeing Co. 777-300ER aircraft at Hong Kong International Airport in Hong Kong, China, on Friday, June 13, 2014. American Airlines inaugurated their Hong Kong-Dallas route this month.

1. Delta Airlines
2. United Airlines
3. American Airlines

 

For more on Fortune and Travel + Leisure's  Best in Business Travel 2015, visit travelandleisure.com/best-in-business-travel. To see the survey methodology, go here. 

Read: The Best Hotels for Business Travel 2015

Read: The Best International Airlines for Business Travel 2015

About the Authors
Fortune Editors
By Fortune Editors
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
By Travel + Leisure
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • Future 50
  • World’s Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
Sections
  • Finance
  • Leadership
  • Success
  • Tech
  • Asia
  • Europe
  • Environment
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Health
  • Retail
  • Lifestyle
  • Politics
  • Newsletters
  • Magazine
  • Features
  • Commentary
  • Mpw
  • CEO Initiative
  • Conferences
  • Personal Finance
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
About Us
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Most Popular

placeholder alt text
Economy
'I just don't have a good feeling about this': Top economist Claudia Sahm says the economy quietly shifted and everyone's now looking at the wrong alarm
By Eleanor PringleJanuary 31, 2026
20 hours ago
placeholder alt text
Success
Alexis Ohanian walked out of the LSAT 20 minutes in, went to a Waffle House, and decided he was 'gonna invent a career.' He founded Reddit
By Preston ForeJanuary 31, 2026
13 hours ago
placeholder alt text
Success
Ryan Serhant starts work at 4:30 a.m.—he says most people don’t achieve their dreams because ‘what they really want is just to be lazy’
By Preston ForeJanuary 31, 2026
15 hours ago
placeholder alt text
Future of Work
Ford CEO has 5,000 open mechanic jobs with up to 6-figure salaries from the shortage of manually skilled workers: 'We are in trouble in our country'
By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezJanuary 31, 2026
13 hours ago
placeholder alt text
Economy
Right before Trump named Warsh to lead the Fed, Powell seemed to respond to some of his biggest complaints about the central bank
By Jason MaJanuary 30, 2026
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
AI
Top engineers at Anthropic, OpenAI say AI now writes 100% of their code—with big implications for the future of software development jobs
By Beatrice NolanJanuary 29, 2026
2 days ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.


Latest in

LawJeffrey Epstein
Epstein files lead to resignation of top Slovakian official, while British prime minister calls on former prince to cooperate with U.S. authorities
By Michael R. Sisak, Danica Kirka, Ben Finley and The Associated PressJanuary 31, 2026
4 hours ago
Startups & VentureOpenAI
Nvidia CEO signals investment in OpenAI round may be largest yet
By Debby Wu and BloombergJanuary 31, 2026
5 hours ago
Economygeopolitics
BRICS could become a new pillar of global governance—if its rapid growth doesn’t erode its newfound clout
By Brian WongJanuary 31, 2026
6 hours ago
LawICE
Judge orders 5-year-old boy and his dad released from ICE detention, citing ‘incompetently-implemented government pursuit of daily deportation quotas’
By Geoff Mulvihill and The Associated PressJanuary 31, 2026
6 hours ago
EconomyFederal Reserve
Fed chair nominee Kevin Warsh could crush Trump’s rate-cut hopes and risk suffering the same level of abuse that Powell got, analysts say
By Jason MaJanuary 31, 2026
6 hours ago
EconomyDebt
Trump thinks a weaker dollar is great, but the U.S. needs a stable currency as national debt heads toward $40 trillion, former Fed president says
By Jason MaJanuary 31, 2026
8 hours ago