Virgin America, the San Francisco-based Virgin-branded airline, will start services in August following approval from the US Department of Transportation (DOT) to sell tickets. No date has been confirmed but it is understood to be ”in the weeks ahead.”
Virgin America has been conceived as a low cost model and has already taken delivery of ten Airbus A320 series aircraft. It plans to serve up to ten cities within a year of its launch, with routes to be announced shortly.
Under the terms of approval, CEO Fred Reid, an airline industry veteran, will stand down soon after the airline commences operations.
Virgin America won regulatory approval for its business plan in May after agreeing to restructure its investor financing, to ensure it was controlled from within the US under a controversial law limiting overseas influence in domestic airlines.
Speaking in Chicago recently, Sir Richard Branson made it clear that he has no influence with the day to day workings of the airline. ”Virgin America is entirely run by Americans for Americans. I have nothing to add,” he said.
What is very clear is that the new airline will undoubtedly gain from the high profile that the Branson/Virgin brand guarantees.
The airline enters a crowded market place, with relatively new upstarts such as JetBlue forcing legacy carriers to cut the number of seats available for sale domestically and shifting their emphasis to lucrative international routes.
Virgin America is likely to copy Virgin Atlantic in terms of innovations and new ideas. The airline has already said that its aim is to bring fun back to flying, including the most advanced personal in-flight entertainment system in the domestic airline market, cabins with mood-lighting and custom-designed leather seats.
The carrier”s first flights will be between its home base of San Francisco (SFO) and New York (JFK), although it also plans to serve Los Angeles International, Washington/Dulles, San Diego and Las Vegas within the first year of operations.