Virgin America
Virgin America Inc. was a low-cost airline in the United States that operated from 2004 until 2018 when it merged with Alaska Airlines. The airline primarily focused on operating low-fare service between cities on the West Coast and other major metropolitan areas, with higher quality service. It was headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area city of Burlingame, and operated domestic flights to major U.S. cities, primarily from hubs at San Francisco and Los Angeles as well as a smaller focus city operation at Love Field in Dallas.
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| Founded | January 26, 2004 | ||||||
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| Commenced operations | August 8, 2007 | ||||||
| Ceased operations | April 24, 2018 (merged into Alaska Airlines) | ||||||
| AOC # | VQIA199L | ||||||
| Hubs | |||||||
| Focus cities | Dallas–Love | ||||||
| Frequent-flyer program | eleVAte | ||||||
| Parent company | Alaska Air Group (2016—2018) | ||||||
| Headquarters | Burlingame, California, U.S. | ||||||
| Key people |
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| Revenue | US$1.529 billion (2015) | ||||||
| Operating income | US$177.2 million (2015) | ||||||
| Net income | US$340.5 million (2015) | ||||||
The airline began operations in 2007 as an independent airline company using branding licensed from the United Kingdom–based Virgin Group, which also controls the brand of the Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Australia airlines. The Alaska Air Group acquired Virgin America in April 2016, at a cost of approximately $4 billion and continued to operate Virgin America under its own name and brand until the airline was fully merged into Alaska Airlines on April 24, 2018.