Virgin America is now completely a thing of the past.
The formal disappearance of Richard Branson’s much-heralded effort to bring European panache to the United States was marked this week by the repainting of the Virgin America fleet by Alaska Air Group, which acquired Branson’s airline about three years ago.
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Alaska is still working to convert all of the former Virgin interiors, an effort that should wrap up in the spring, according to a Bloomberg report.
Alaska has said it plans to keep Virgin’s cabin lighting and free entertainment. In addition, the carrier intends to increase the number of first class seats on former Virgin Airbus’ from eight to 12, according to a previous report from The Points Guy.
In airlines/faa-alaska-airlines-absorbs-virgin-america.html” target=”_self” rel=”nofollow noopener noreferrer”>January, Alaska Airlines received a single operating certificate from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for Alaska Airlines and Virgin America, marking another significant milestone in the integration of the two airlines. And on April 25, the Virgin America brand was officially be retired.
The sale of Virgin America took place amid protests from Branson, who was a minority shareholder. Alaska spent $2.6 billion to acquire the airline as part of an effort to beef up its presence in California.
Though the red liveries and Virgin America signage have now disappeared, Branson’s brand isn’t completely dead, Bloomberg suggested. Alaska is apparently paying an undisclosed fee to Virgin Group to use the brand name, according to the news organization.
A Virgin Group spokeswoman told Bloomberg that the terms of the agreement with Alaska are confidential.
“Alaska [is] paying royalties which enable them to use it, but how or when they do would be to their discretion,” the spokeswoman said in an email.
An Alaska spokeswoman said the company is no longer using the Virgin brand but declined to discuss the topic further.
In other words, while Branson’s American endeavor is history, the Virgin America name may potentially return to the U.S. in the future in some form. The U.S. carrier agreed to a 25-year branding relationship with Virgin Group, which would potentially leave Alaska with rights to the brand until 2039.
“There is a chance we could use the Virgin America brand in some form down the road,” Alaska Chief Executive Brad Tilden said in April 2016 announcing the acquisition.
