Virgin America takes off, from San Francisco

08 August 2007

San Francisco will get its first taste of the Branson way of doing things today (8 August), as startup airline Virgin America lands its first planes — from New York and Los Angeles — amid a great deal of hoopla at San Francisco International Airport.

Sir Richard Branson, founder of the Virgin Group that owns 25 per cent of Virgin America and licenses the Virgin brand, will jet into town. Virgin America Chief Executive Officer Fred Reid, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom and possibly Gov Arnold Schwarzenegger will be in attendance.

Newsom and Schwarzenegger lobbied Branson to have Virgin America set up its headquarters in the Bay Area. The state also put up nearly $13 million in job-training funds as inducements for the carrier to open its corporate headquarters in Frisco.

Virgin America has already shown it has the Branson touch. The fledgling carrier has held high-profile promotional events, enlisted members of the public to name its aircraft and imported celebrities associated with San Francisco, such as retired rock singer Grace Slick, to make appearances on its behalf.

The low-fare carrier, based in Burlingame, is beginning service with two flights per day to New York and five to Los Angeles. It also plans to begin services to Las Vegas, Boston and Washington in the coming months.

Virgin America first set up office operations in 2004, promising to create excitement, offer jobs and create an economic ripple in the Bay Area. It took three years, but funding has fallen into place, and the Transportation Department has overcome its fright of foreign ownership and given a green signal to Virgin America's flight plans.