Virgin America is now a relic of history, at least officially.
The airline ceased to be an independent airline on January 09, 2018, losing its unique call sign and now ushered into the fold of Alaska Airlines. The two carriers now operate under a single operating certificate.
Practically, the only immediate difference is Virgin’s call sign will go from “Redwood” to “Alaska”. It will take some time to replace the liveries and update the cabins. You’ll be able to book Virgin flights on Virgin’s website through April 24, 2018. The Virgin America brand will persist until sometime in 2019.
Onboard, the signature purple-lit interiors and eight white first class seats will give way for a blue “West Coast vibe” mood lighting across the Alaska and Virgin fleet. First class seating will expand from eight to 12 seats on ex-Virgin aircraft.
To commemorate Virgin America’s 14 year run, the airline has released a video entitled “The Secret Life of Virgins”:
It’s not very emotional for me, because I only flew Virgin a few times over the years, but I can imagine this will bring loyal Virgin America flyers to tears.
CONCLUSION
In the next week or two I will publish a trip report from my last journey on Virgin America. It has been awhile, but I never got around to publishing it while still at UPGRD.com. I’ll say this: I’ll miss the amazing meals on Virgin America.
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