Virgin America has requested that the Department of Transportation extend the deadline from Nov. 18 to Feb. 18, 2008, to replace CEO Fred Reid. DOT, in its approval of the carrier's launch in May, said Reid, a U.S. citizen viewed by the government as too close to foreign investors, had to vacate his position within six months.
In its filing with DOT on Tuesday, Virgin America said its board of directors for months has been "engaged in a search to recruit a seasoned successor CEO with extensive experience in running an airline." Virgin America chairman Donald Carty, a former American Airlines CEO, in the filing said the extension would provide "sufficient time to identify, interview, recruit and negotiate the terms of employment for, and likely relocation of, a new CEO."
Separately, Virgin America Tuesday said it signed a "multiyear" agreement to distribute its fares and inventory through the Sabre global distribution system. The carrier launched service last month with its Web site as its focal point of distribution and a content agreement with Galileo
(BTN, July 23).