Both sides need to do everything possible to prevent being pitted against one another.
It appears there was a little clarification:
Quote:
AS+VX: The future of the brand
No decisions have been made on keeping the VX brand
Editor’s Note: The story has been updated to include a quote from Alaska COO and President Ben Minicucci to clarify the company’s plans to achieve a single operating certificate remain unchanged.
June 15, 2016
By Nancy Trott
What does the future hold for the Virgin America brand if Air Group acquires Virgin America?
In a news story by The Associated Press Wednesday, CEO Brad Tilden was quoted saying that one consideration was to operate the Alaska and Virgin America brands as two different products within Air Group.
Sangita Woerner
As Alaska and Virgin America prepare to merge, the future of the Virgin America brand after any merger remains one of the biggest questions, and at this time, no decisions have been made.
Wednesday’s story from the AP wasn’t saying anything new. In a post on the Alaska Airlines blog on April 7, Sangita Woerner, vice president of marketing, said Alaska has great respect for the Virgin America brand and Alaska taking time to understand it better.
“What specifically might we incorporate? Honestly, I don’t yet know. But what I can tell you is that we will be examining each of those elements closely and thoughtfully over the coming months and years as we work to understand Virgin America’s customers and their needs and why they love their airline,” Woerner said at the time.
While Alaska’s leaders explore options for the Virgin brand and experience in the future, plans to achieve a single operating certificate remain unchanged. “We are still driving to achieve one single operating certificate by January 2018,” said Alaska President and COO, Ben Minicucci.
“We’re going to take the time to look at the many different options,” said Woerner.
Yesterday
AIRLINE
