Alaska Air Still Holding Off Big Decisions About Virgin America’s Future
Photo Credit: Alaska Airlines has many decisions to make, including whether to change Virgin America's business class seat for transcontinental routes. Virgin America
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There's almost no chance that Alaska Airlines will keep Virgin America around as an airline for any longer than necessary. But some smaller elements of the Virgin America brand could remain over time.
Alaska Airlines likely will not make any decisions about the future of Virgin America's brand until at least the fourth quarter of this year, Virgin America CEO David Cush said Monday.
At times, Alaska Airlines CEO Brad Tilden has hinted his carrier might find use for the upstart airline's brand after the two airlines merge. While Tilden once suggested it might be possible for Alaska to keep the two carriers separate, as International Airlines Group does with its British Airway and Iberia Airlines units, that's highly unlikely, as it would be a complex way to run a company. Instead, Alaska might absorb pieces of what makes Virgin America unique, such as mood lighting or even the words, like Main Cabin Select, that Virgin America uses to describe its passenger cabins.
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On Monday at the International Aviation Forecast S
