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Blue Above All
2022 started as a fantastic beginning to VirtualBlue. After a long promise on the A320 new livery, we received the A220 | BCS3 with the “Hops” JetBlue Livery. A much needed morale booster for all of VirtualBlue and the Infinite Flight community.
Late 2021 saw the expansion of routes to London Heathrow and London Gatwick! The first routes to travel to the UK for JetBlue, marking a step into the international cities across the Atlantic Ocean.
After a stagnant 2020 and 2021, 2022 is shaping up to be a bright spot for VirtualBlue. The release of the “Hops” livery and routes to London have increased the interest in VirtualBlue across the IFC and our applications are up over 70% and we continue to see interest across the landscape.
Welcome to the Official 2022 VirtualBlue Thread!
Virtual Blue is the virtual airline for Infinite Flight. Our motto is: Blue Above All
jetBlue is one of the best domestic airlines in the industry and it is why we have the virtual airline in Infinite Flight. As a VA, our dedication to realism has always been at the forefront of our mission: To be the most realistic VA on Infinite Flight. This mission does not stop for us.
For the last 5 years, the VA has focused on the real world flight experience as a group, while only venturing to other areas of IF Global on realistic codeshares. Those times have changed. Our group is focused on creating and completing events which involve codeshare partners.
New routes are being acquired by Jetblue every month and we implement the routes into our database to give our pilots the biggest and most accurate route database we can, to maintain a realistic flight environment of departure and arrival cities.
PRESIDENT - Gonzo
Vice President: Operations
- Vacant -Vice President: Hub Management
Director of Human Resources
- Vacant -Director of Digital Media - Vacant
Chief Pilot
Event Coordinator
- Vacant -If any of the above positions are of insterest to you, please reach out to Gonzo or you can contact us on our website: www.virtualblueair.com
Embraer 190
The Embraer 190 has always been designated as the regional aircraft for Jetblue. Embraer is based out of Brazil and manufacturers 4 different models for Infinite Flight. E170, 175, 190, and 195. The 190 can hold up to 100 passengers, has a range of 2450nm’s and a ceiling of 41000 feet.
Airbus 320-232
The workhorse of the fleet, the A320 has over 400 round trip routes in which the aircraft is assigned. With a cruise speed of either .78M or .80M, the A320 will for sure save fuel and time which keeps the costs low for the airline.Other variations are the 320neo which has not been implemented into IF, but does include the Pratt Whitney engines for longer range, more thrust and better fuel efficiency. The A320 is the steadiest aircraft in the 320 family.
Airbus 321-200
The A321-200 is the flagship of the fleet. Considered an extended version of the 320, the flight parameters and physics are nearly identical. The A321 provides extended range but also comes with the MINT configuration for long hauls, like our newest routes going to Heathrow and Gatwick.
Like the 320, the 321 has variations within the jetBlue fleet but have not been implemented into IF as of yet. There is the 321neo and the 321LR. As is, the current IF 321 can safely make it across to London, and hopefully in the future, IF can implement the LR or neo to include the Pratt Whitney engines for greater range and better fuel efficiency.
NEW FOR 2022
BCS3 | Airbus A220-300
The BCS3 or A223 is a new aircraft for Infinite Flight released with the 21.8
The BCS3 is being phased in as the E190 is being phased out of the fleet. The BCS3 has a longer range, better fuel efficiency, and can carry more passengers. Painted with the “Hops” Livery, it was a great way to start of the new year for VirtualBlue.
Table 1 - JetBlue Fleet Table
The More You Know
Virtual Blue has a commitment to realism and providing the most realistic flight environment we can deliver. Flight planning and taking a real vested interest to flying our aircraft within the performance limits seems like it would be daunting, but in fact, it's satisfying to know that the preparation of flight prior to push back, gives our passengers and crew the confidence our pilots are some of the best.
The approach to flight planning is not as the cliche states, “the shortest distance between two points is a stratght line”. Travelling by car from New York to Los Angeles does not occur in a straight line. Much like ground travel, air travel has planned highways for aircraft to travel. These highways are the flight plans that consist of waypoints.
At a high level, these waypoints allow ATC to track planes along a route based on their filed flight plan for monitoring any deviations from the flight plan without clearance or authorization. Flight planning tools are imperitive to realism and using proper waypoints between the Departure and Arrival airports follows the highways in the sky for monitoring the safety of the plane and the people on board.
JetBlue University is a program that VirtualBlue incorporates into the development of its pilots with proper guidance and instruction on procedures and charts to ensure a safe and proper flight.
Minimum Age Requirement: 15 Years Old
Must Be Level 3
We have worked hard to develop partnerships to cover territories outside of our route database. We rely on our partners to provide excellent services on behalf of our commitment to serve customers as if they were VirtualBlue passengers.
Current Partner Airlines:
American Airlines (Northeast Alliance)
Porter Air
El Al Virtual
Air China Virtual
Iceland Air
Iberia Air
South African Airlines
Hawaiin Air Lines
Avianca
Aer Lingus
Azul
LATAM
Qatari
Etihad
Emirates
The list above is a representation of our current codeshare partners, and there are a couple that have been grandfathered in from a long agreed partnership with VirtualBlue.
Generally, our codeshares represent real life partners with jetBlue to navigate to many areas in which our aircraft do not go. If you are interested in a Codeshare with virtualBlue, and there has been, at one point in the past or present, a real world codeshare, virtualBlue is open to postulating a partnership to expand our reach outside our coverage areas and deliver availability to routes in the US, Carribean, Central and South America.
The list above is a representation of our current codeshare partners, and there are a couple that have been grandfathered in from a long agreed partnership with VirtualBlue.
LONDON
In late 2021, JetBlue opened up its long awaited service to London - Heathrow. JetBlue introduced its A321LR | JBU 7 to bring passengers to London Heathrow Airport. London Gatwick then opened its routes for JetBlue to service out of Gatwick. In Spring/Summer of 2022, Gatwick and Heathrow will be set to receive flights from Boston as part of the JetBlue expansion to the United Kingdom.
While Infinite Flight works hard to develop the game and be at the forefront of mobile flight simulation, we do understand that introducing the A321LR into IF is a low priority item. Because of this, we have tested and been able to confirm, the current A321-200 in IF has the ability to travel from KJFK - EGLL with a full load and step climbs without calling for Emergency Fuel into ATC.
This testing has been able to ensure VirtualBlue can keep up with the current route tables.
Career Mode was introduced earlier in 2022. While JetBlue does not fly around the world, we have Airline Partners which provide service to multiple areas across the globe. Our career mode is divided to cover nearly the entire globe with the use of real world routes and the use of our codeshare routes. There are a total of 38 legs, starting at JetBlue HQ in New York and ending right back at JFK in New York.
Career Mode was designed to push the comfort zone in order to fly all types of flights using multiple aircraft bodies. Some routes were designed to be ultra long hauls while broken up by short and medium hauls.
In the Month of May or maybe June, all of our pilots are welcome to join the VirtualBlue Around the Globe Event. This event is going to test the pilots flight planning and mental acuity to correctly navigate the globe without having to land with emergency fuel for any reason.
Each pilot will have criteria in which they need to meet:
It's a challenge to plan the flight knowing the distance a plane can travel and having to account for that distance, especially if there are headwinds. The E190 has a range of 2400nm, but that is in a vaccuum. That does not account for any weather related issues. Planning the flight has to be strategic for this challenge.
We have had a great start to 2022 and we hope we can finish just as strong. Our roster is gaining size and continue to do so every week. Our activity is up due to the BCS3 release and some of the events the leadership has been able to create.
When I say, as the CEO of VirtualBlue, that we are about Blue Above All, I truly feel we have that mentality with every pilot on the roster and every new pilot accepted to VirtualBlue. VirtualBlue is in a great position with Infinite Flight and we look forward to what the year has to bring and beyond.