Last week I flew Virgin America for the first time. I was wowed by the hipness but found the customer service bumpy—which I suspect is a function of a young operation pushing the boundaries of employee independence.

Stepping onto the plane, Virgin immediately impressed me with the mood lighting, sleek black-and-white seats and interactive entertainment system. The flight attendants on my trip to Las Vegas were fun. At one point, the head of the team advised us not to listen to one of his colleagues.

My trip back to San Francisco that evening also featured an engaging Virgin employee. The gate agent kept telling us that Virgin was the “greatest airline—ever,” with just enough irony in his voice to make the phrase amusing rather than arrogant.

But aboard the plane, Virgin’s service took a nose dive. The lead flight attendant spoke in a cardboard monotone, sounding like someone reading a script for the first time. What’s more, the officer speaking from the cockpit deck flubbed his introductory remarks.

He said there would be some bumps on the way out of Las Vegas owing to heat from the desert rocks, but it should be a “safe” flight the rest of the way. Obviously he meant to say “smooth”; we wouldn’t be taking off if conditions were unsafe.

But for the substantial portion of the populace with some fear of flying—including me, I’ll admit—it was an annoying slip-up. Not the sort of thing that puts one in a relaxed mood.

This uneven performance from Virgin employees isn’t surprising when you consider the airline’s history and its vision. This division of Richard Branson’s Virgin Group is just 2 years old, which is a short time to work out the kinks of a complex service business even when you have a sister airline company. That’s especially true given that Virgin America intends to “bring great service back to the skies” in an unconventional way.

Traditional airlines such as United and American have relied largely on formulas for interacting with passengers. Such systems may limit the damage a low-performing employee can do, but the consistency and tight parameters can be maddeningly inhuman. Remember comedian David Spade’s “BUH-bye” skit?

Virgin America appears to be taking the opposite approach. In keeping with Virgin Group’s philosophy of empowering employees, the upstart airline seems to be giving its people great latitude to do their jobs.

Consider the message on Virgin America’s careers page: “If you have got guts, passion and that independent spirit, then you might be the kind of person we’re looking for,” it reads. “If you have the thirst and creativity to make this the most-loved airline in the sky, then we promise to make this a company where inspired people like you will always love to work.”

Virgin America’s focus on independence and creativity in its workforce amounts to a social experiment in the skies. And there’s evidence it’s working. For two years running, the airline has taken the top honor in the domestic airline category of Travel + Leisure magazine’s World’s Best Awards.

“Are you Virgin enough for Virgin America?” the career page asks provocatively. There’s bound to be some awkwardness as employees figure out their own ways to service customers well. But I wouldn’t be surprised if Virgin’s approach to people makes it an ever-smoother operator.