Alaska Airlines to Retire Virgin America Brand

The combined airline will continue to feature brand elements from Virgin America.

Alaska Airlines has revealed that its subsidiary Virgin America will adopt its name and logo, retiring the brand’s name likely sometime in 2019.

However, the newly combined airline will adopt a host of brand elements from Virgin America, including enhanced in-flight entertainment, mood lighting, music and the “relentless desire to make flying a different experience for guests.”

"We spent the last 10 months conducting extensive research and listening carefully to what fliers on the West Coast want most," says Sangita Woerner, vice president, marketing, Alaska Airlines. "While the Virgin America name is beloved to many, we concluded that to be successful on the West Coast we had to do so under one name–for consistency and efficiency, and to allow us to continue to deliver low fares."

Alaska Airlines completed its $2.6 billion acquisition of Virgin America last December.

"Our goal from the very beginning of this merger was to become the go-to airline for people on the West Coast, with low fares, convenient flights, a premium product and genuine, caring service," says Brad Tilden, chief executive officer, Alaska Air Group. "Three months in, we've dramatically grown our presence in California and are united behind a new purpose: Creating an airline people love."