Alaska will fold Virgin America brand within two years

[jis]

He had a say, but only insofar as he held a minority stake in the company and the hedge fund folks who backed the airline to begin with had more votes than he did.

Which is about as much say as anyone holding a minority stake does specially when the major stakeholders disagree with you. That is - close to zero.

 

[CHamilton]

Branson, the British billionaire who helped create Virgin America, told reporters in Seattle this week that Alaska must pay royalties for the Virgin name under a licensing deal that runs until 2040....Alaska's general counsel said Wednesday that Branson was correct only about the length of the contract.

"What he didn't mention is there are lots of ways out of the contract," Kyle Levine said Wednesday. "No, we do not need to keep paying for a brand that we are not using."

http://www.seattlepi.com/business/article/Alaska-Airlines-Branson-clash-over-licensing-fees-11037209.php

Formerly All-Boeing Alaska Air To Keep Airbus Jets 'For The Foreseeable Future'

http://kuow.org/post/formerly-all-boeing-alaska-air-keep-airbus-jets-foreseeable-future

Pedersen said most of the 68 Airbus jets in Virgin's fleet this year are on leases that run through at least 2021. He said Alaska Air will announce a decision by the end of this year whether to remain a mixed fleet operator long term or go back to an all-Boeing fleet....

On Wednesday, the combined airline's top brass added that it will standardize the First Class cabins resulting in plusher seats with more legroom than Alaska currently offers, but less space than Virgin's current First Class offering.

Alaska Air Group CEO Brad Tilden said his team evaluated whether to offer "lie-flat" seats on transcontinental flights to keep pace with larger competitors, but decided that was not worth it.

 

[WoodyinNYC]

More specifics here.

http://www.geekwire.com/2017/alaska-airlines-killing-virgin-america-2019/

This jumped out from the solid GeekWire story:

By June, Alaska first-class passengers will be able to pre-select meals before they fly, and by next year, main-cabin passengers will be able to pre-pay for meals.

Everything they can do, Amtrak can do, too? Ya think?

 

[CHamilton]

Alaska Airlines struggles to bring Virgin America on board

http://www.heraldnet.com/business/alaska-airlines-struggles-to-bring-virgin-america-on-board/