Alaska Air Buys Virgin America for $2.6 Billion
Photo Credit: A rendering of Virgin America and Alaska Air aircraft. Virgin America
Skift Take
A little excitement in aviation today as two of the U.S. most-liked airlines plan to create a single carrier.
After a weekend of speculation around Alaska Airlines and JetBlue Airways attempting to buy Virgin America, Alaska has emerged as the winner, announcing this morning that it was acquiring Virgin for $57 per share in cash.
Combined with Virgin's debt and aircraft operating leases of approximately $1.4 billion, the ultimate value of the deal is $4 billion.
The deal gives Alaska Air, which has a strong presence on the U.S. west cost, access to important east coast airports in Washingt
