Tomorrow (Today) marks a milestone in the world of aviation. Fourteen years after its founding, and over a decade since it began operations, Virgin America will no longer be flying.
That"™s not to say you will stop seeing Virgin America planes in the air and at the airport. Rather, January 11, 2018, marks the day when Virgin America and Alaska Airlines will begin operating under a single operating certificate. That means Virgin America and Alaska Airlines will be considered as a single airline by the FAA. Virgin America flights will cease using the callsign "Redwood," and the airline"™s pilots will switch to the callsign "Alaska" instead.
On the consumer side of things, April 24 will be the last day fliers can book flights on Virgin America"™s site. Starting on April 25, customers will be redirected to Alaska"™s site, and all flights will be booked as Alaska ones.
We will likely see Virgin America planes with their signature red-and-white paint jobs on tarmacs for some time to come, though, as it will take at least several months for all the newly merged airline"™s jets to be decorated with Alaska"™s livery.
However, Airline Geeks reports that a new Virgin America Airbus A321neo aircraft with the tail number N925VA left the factory on December 2 and has already been painted with Alaska colors as well as a tagline reading "Most West Coast" in a nod to the airline"™s robust West Coast route network. The Virgin America brand will likely cease to exist altogether sometime in 2019 as Alaska folds Virgin"™s fleet and workforce into its own.
