It was a first in 40-plus years of flying. A Virgin America flight attendant unplugged my laptop power cord, wrapped it up, lifted my "rolling office" luggage from the overhead bin, and stowed the cord and computer inside.

She was about to heft the bag back up into the bin when I finally came to my senses, jumped and did the heavy lifting. I was stunned. Usually, it's the same old "we're starting our descent so please turn off anything electronic and bring your seat back to an upright position, and the cabin crew is checking to make sure your carry-on is under the seat."

Virgin America is, theoretically, the U.S. offspring of Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Atlantic Airways. Virgin is famed for its in-flight saloon and bar stools, neck massages, motorcycle pick-up and airport clubhouses that are slightly akin to Hefner's Playboy Mansion sans the grotto. Virgin Atlantic's Upper Class - first-class comforts at a business-class fare - always seems like a party in the clouds. Sir Richard only owns 25 percent of the carrier, but his fingerprints are everywhere.

The newbie is a discounter with style, some wonderful fresh ideas and a few brainstorms that are a pain in the rear for anyone over 50. Like JetBlue in the beginning, most seats are packed with vacationers and families; business travelers are just now discovering it.

Smart move. The Big Six have been recently canceling flights daily in triple-digit numbers, often routing you through their hubs for time-delaying connections, flying old planes and generally having grumpy cabin crews who have suffered deep benefit and pay cuts.

But Virgin America's flying new A320s and mostly nonstops to main airports at seven major cities, expanding to 10 by year's end. It launched Los Angeles-to-Seattle flights with inaugural fares of $79 one way in economy and $199 one way in first class, but by April 16 those cheap fares had expired.

Still, a low-cost airline with eight first-class black leather seats and 55 inches of legroom with a 165 degree recline? They are delightfully comfortable and popular - there's talk of adding another row of four per aircraft. On the flight from San Francisco to Washington Dulles, I flew coach outbound and first class home to get a sense of the service from both ends of the plane.

As mentioned above, Virgin America has some great ideas. There are 12 shades of mood lighting, pegged to the weather outside. When I boarded, the lighting was a soothing shade of lavender and it was sort of like entering a nightclub. Economy seats, also leather, are six across and have 9-inch video touch screens in every seat back. All seats have 110-volt power plugs, USB ports and RJ-45 ethernet jacks; however, in economy, they are virtually under the seat and tough to access. In first class, powering up is a breeze and no adapters are needed.

Economy seating feels a bit tight. But with 32 inches of seat pitch, it's an inch more than industry standard and it has adjustable headrest height and wings. Plus, the seats do not lean back in your lap, so you can use a notebook computer.

No surprise, given Branson's background, that Virgin America has a pretty snazzy entertainment system called Red. I found it a little too stylish, with 18 channels of Dish satellite TV including CNN, ESPN, Fox, some 20 on-demand movies and, it claims, "seat-to-seat chat messaging with split screen," so you can see who you're chatting with. The remote unit is in the seat with controls on one side and a keyboard on the other for Wi-Fi that will be installed soon. It has Google maps, which, I found, do not track the progress of the flight in real time.

What's more, Virgin America is a cash-free airline, meaning you have to order your drink or a meal (costs extra in coach) via Red and pay for it with your credit card. That sounds convenient but it's a bit of a hassle. You can't just verbally order a bloody mary and pay the $5 to the flight attendant. In fact, drinks on Virgin in coach have broken the $5 in-flight barrier; you're anteing up $6 for a split of Wente Bros. wine and the same for a mixed drink.

One coach passenger who works for a university, which he didn't want to identify, likes being able to plug in his Dell and not worry about running out of battery power.

"The seat pitch is not as good as JetBlue or (United's) Economy Plus, but it's way better than Delta or American's seats."

First class on Virgin America is truly first class and is probably the best value for the money among U.S. airlines. The chicken quiche breakfast and turkey wrap were fresh. There were fruit and yogurt appetizers and strong coffee. The flight attendant who so willingly packed me up - her name is Margaret - had worked for Saudi Arabian Airlines for 17 years and was a real pro. The three male flight attendants on my outbound flight seemed more like rookies and their smiles were rare.

Remember those Virgin Atlantic airport clubhouses? If you're a member of Virgin America's eleVAte loyalty program and fly first class, you can pay $40 and gain admittance to the sanctuary. Not bad at all. American charges $50 and you still pay for drinks.

Elizabeth Nordlinger, a Palo Alto, Calif., interior designer of Renovation Design, said the "price of this first-class ticket is really good, especially compared to United. I also like the design of Virgin's planes and the presentation of the food that actually tastes really fresh."

Nordlinger, slim and stylish herself, remembers one first-class lunch where the dessert was creme brulee and she asked for another plate.

"When is the last time you asked for seconds of airline food?" she asks.

Chris Barnett writes on business travel strategies that save time, money and hassle.

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