The 'New' Alaska Airlines Looks a Lot Like Virgin America

23 Jan 2018 17:18:33

cntraveler.com

There's been a lot of bemoaning the loss of Virgin America ever since the trendsetting (and seriously beloved) domestic airline was bought by Alaska Airlines. What would happen to that purple mood lighting? The decent mid-air cocktails? The Wi-Fi that wasn't awful?! Even Virgin Group founder Sir Richard Branson refused to give up on his baby. “People love Virgin with a passion that hasn’t existed since the early days of aviation," he told us back in 2016, when this whole merger became very real, "and I am certainly not going to let it go to waste."

But let me be so bold as to say: Alaska was as great as Virgin America—and this new hybrid has the potential to be one of the best airlines in the country. Seattle-based Alaska was never as high-profile; it didn't have as many California routes as San Francisco-based Virgin America, or the megawatt founder to help with PR. But for those who lived in Alaska and the Pacific Northwest, it was a godsend—an airline much like JetBlue or Virgin that felt familial, with friendly staff, great amenities (leather seats in economy! microbrews and Tom Douglas meals onboard!), and a guarantee that you would get your luggage within 20 minutes of your plane arriving at the gate. Alaska would pay you if you didn't.

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