Virgin America takeover cleared for takeoff
At long last, today the Department of Justice has approved Alaska Airlines’ acquisition of Virgin America. In order to get the deal done, all Alaska has to do is unload 45 code share routes with...
View ArticleVirgin America – Alaska Airlines deal is done
Virgin America and Alaska Airlines today officially closed their merger, which means that Virgin America is now a fully-owned subsidiary of Alaska Air Group. To celebrate, Alaska Air is flying a...
View ArticleNeed to know: Alaska Air + Virgin America
Alaska Airlines today officially closed its acquisition of Virgin America and announced plans to combine some aspects of operations and loyalty programs, but said that the two airline brands will...
View ArticleThe week’s most popular travel stories
TravelSkills’ 10 most popular posts over the last week (descending order): 1 Delta tweaks SkyMiles upgrade policies 2 Deal: Transcon fares plunge to near $200 roundtrip 3 Routes: Air Canada, Virgin...
View ArticleTime to convert Virgin America points to Alaska miles?
Shortly after taking over Virgin America, Alaska Airlines announced that it would convert Elevate points to Mileage Plan mile at a relatively generous rate of 1.3 to 1. That’s nice of Alaska, but does...
View Article13 new Bay Area nonstop flights
Now that Alaska Airlines owns Virgin America, it has targeted the Bay Area for “the single largest new market announcement” in its history, the company said Thursday. FULL STORY Alaska/Virgin plans to...
View ArticleHow will Virgin America demise affect you?
After months of speculation about the fate of the Virgin America brand and product under Alaska Airlines ownership, Alaska’s management has finally decided: The Virgin name will gradually disappear,...
View ArticleA jaw-dropping thrill ride over the Bay
This week we had to say goodbye to Virgin America. Sad, yes, but I feel like much of what we loved about it is in good hands with Alaska Airlines. FULL STORY As a San Francisco-based travel writer,...
View ArticleHeads up: Big LAX switch starts Friday
We’ve advised you a couple of times that many airlines would be switching terminals at Los Angeles International this spring, and now those moving days are almost here: The big move starts this Friday...
View ArticleNew SFO-New Orleans nonstop; Frontier beefs up at San Jose
Back in March, Alaska Airlines/Virgin America unveiled plans for a big expansion of activity in the Bay Area, and this fall those new flights are finally starting to operate. Alaska recently started...
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