Alaska and Virgin’s merger vision for the future

Since the merger between Alaska Airlines and Virgin America in December last year, the combined company has chosen to adopt Alaska’s name, while retaining a good number of the Virgin America brand elements which were so popular with the carrier’s fans. Alaska has also been adding to the airlines’ combined networks, announcing 21 new markets with 25 new daily departures out of San Francisco, San Diego, Los Angeles and San Jose, California earlier this month.
According to Brad Tilden, CEO of Alaska Air Group, “Our goal from the very beginning of this merger was to become the go-to airline for people on the West Coast, with low fares, convenient flights, a premium product and genuine, caring service. Three months in, we’ve dramatically grown our presence in California and are united behind a new purpose: Creating an airline people love.”
Sangita Woerner, Alaska Airlines Vice President of Marketing, confirmed that “We spent the last 10 months conducting extensive research and listening carefully to what fliers on the West Coast want most. 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 – for consistency and efficiency, and to allow us to continue to deliver low fares.”
Alaska has announced a whole raft of enhancements to the passenger experience that will appear over the next few years, including:
• Satellite connectivity
• More premium seats
• The country’s top-ranked frequent flier program
• Complimentary upgrades
• Free movies
• Free Chat™ via Facebook messenger, WhatsApp and iMessage
• West Coast-inspired food and beverage
Alaska Airlines and Virgin America, along with their regional partners, fly 40 million customers a year to 118 destinations with an average of 1,200 daily flights across the United States and to Mexico, Canada, Costa Rica and Cuba.