Alaska Airlines plans to retire the Virgin America name in
2019, operating as a single carrier that incorporates some of Virgin's
signature elements.
Since it completed
the acquisition of Virgin America last year, Alaska has considered
operating Virgin as its own brand, but the carrier instead will adopt the
Alaska name and logo. It plans to meld in some of Virgin America's traits, such
as the mood lighting and inflight entertainment, to create a "warm and
welcoming West Coast vibe," according to Alaska.
"We spent the last 10 months conducting extensive
research and listening carefully to what flyers on the West Coast want most,"
Alaska VP of marketing Sangita Woerner said. "While the Virgin America
name is beloved to many, we concluded that to be successful on the West Coast,
we had to do so under one name."
The carriers also will merge to a single loyalty program,
Alaska Mileage Plan, in 2018. Other plans include pre-selection and payment for
onboard meals, new lounges in San Francisco and New York's John F. Kennedy
International Airport and expanded lounges in Seattle, Los Angeles and
Portland, Ore.
At the same time, Alaska is growing its West Coast network,
including a
significant buildup out of San Diego and San Francisco/San Jose later this
year.
Following the acquisition, Virgin America founder Richard
Branson said he would consider backing a new airline with the Virgin name
should the Virgin America name be discontinued. In a blog post, he made no
mention of such plans but did lament the end of the brand, though the Virgin
name lives on via Virgin Atlantic, Virgin Australia and Virgin Hotels.
"I'm
told some people at Virgin America are calling today 'the day the music
died,'" Branson wrote. "It is a sad (and some would say baffling)
day. But I'd like to assure them that the music never dies."