VIRGIN AMERICA, the US airline start-up backed 25% by Sir Richard Branson, has named its chairman as Don Carty, the former chairman and chief executive of AMR, parent company of American Airlines. Carty quit AA in 2003 amid union outrage over a package of bonuses and pension benefits negotiated for him and other executives just as the carrier's rank and file workers agreed to wage and salary cuts to avoid a bankruptcy filing. He also serves as chairman of Toronto-based REGCO Holdings, which plans to launch an airline that will operate out of Toronto City Centre Airport. The embryo Virgin carrier hopes to start operations before the end of this year, beginning operations with low fare service on prime transcontinental routes, typically between San Francisco and New York, aboard new Airbus A320 aircraft.
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