Alaska Airlines Still Plays It Coy About Fate of Virgin America Brand
Photo Credit: Virgin America has built a reputation as an irreverent brand. Will it stick around? Alaska Airlines isn't sure yet. Virgin America
Skift Take
Alaska Airlines continues to play it coy when asked about its plans for the Virgin America brand. But it seems likely Alaska will retire most, if not all, aspects of the upstart's brand.
Alaska Airlines said Thursday it expects its merger with Virgin America to close in the fourth quarter, but the carrier reported it has not decided how it might incorporate Virgin America's brand into the combined entity.
Alaska's executives are in a bit of a tricky situation. When they announced their deal to acquire Virgin America in April for $2.6 billion, they suggested that they would essentially retire the upstart airline's brand, which is licensed from Virgin Group. But over time, Alaska executives have softened their stance, saying they might keep elements of Virgin America's brand. Alaska wants to retain Virgin America's customers, and it said Tuesday is expects to make a final decision on the brand by early 2017.
"As we said before, the Alaska brand is sta
