Richard Branson’s American airline operation Virgin America was merged with Alaska Airlines in April 2016, and by January 2018 all of the airline’s fleet had moved to Alaska. Founded as Virgin USA in January 2004, the low-fares airline had its operations center in the San Francisco Bay Area. Due to several setbacks from investors and the government, the airline didn’t actually commence operations until August 2007. The airline’s inaugural flights were from New York and Los Angeles to San Francisco.…
Over the years Richard Branson and the Virgin Group have built an empire that spans the globe. Included in his empire has been multiple airlines, including the group's flagship airline Virgin Atlantic. In the early 2000s, the Virgin Group and Richard Branson set its sights on conquering the skies above…
Seattle-based Alaska Airlines is reportedly going to cut 100 jobs and is looking at layoffs. Employees were notified via an email from Andy Scheider, Vice President and head of human resources for the airline. “We need to make some difficult, but necessary, management reductions to more efficiently support our frontline…
At midnight on Wednesday, April 25, 2018, the airline business lost another brand that helped to change and revolutionize the industry. On this day, the Virgin America brand was retired by Alaska Airlines, who had purchased Virgin America in 2016. Because of Virgin America’s innovative ideas, the airline had a…
On Tuesday tonight, Virgin America’s last ever flight departed, marking the end of an era for Richard Branson’s San Francisco-based startup carrier. VX1948 is the airline’s last revenue departure, from San Francisco International Airport (SFO) at 9:32 p.m. marking the last departure for the carrier. Around 11:01 p.m. the flight…
In a statement released on April 16, Alaska announced that the integration with Virgin America is set to reach a new milestone on April 25, as customer facing platforms will be unified behind the Alaska brand. Earlier this month, it was announced that the final Virgin America flight will take…
As April 24 quickly approaches, so does the end of an era in American aviation as Virgin America will cease to exist in the early hours of the following day. The airline was recently purchased by Seattle-based Alaska Airlines for $2.6 billion and on Jan. 11, 2018 the two carriers…
Virgin America is, and always has been, unlike any other airline in the United States. They offer a degree of luxury overtakes any of the other American competition, while keeping prices affordable. I had been on the airline once before and had an image ingrained in my head that came with…
Just over a month after Alaska Airlines and Virgin America began flying under a single operating certificate, the Association of Flight Attendants declared that it had reached an agreement with Alaska Airlines. The tentative merger agreement represents 5,400 flight attendants working for the newly merged Seattle-based carrier under a labor…
Late last month, it was reported that Alaska Airlines and Virgin America would begin to fly under a single operating certificate (SOC) as early as January 2018. The two carriers will begin to operate under a single operating certificate on Thursday, Jan. 11, 2018. After 14 years of operation, Virgin…
