Alaska Airlines and Virgin America grow San Francisco hub with flights to popular destinations

SEATTLE, Dec. 21, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Alaska Airlines and Virgin America began selling tickets today for new daily nonstop flights from San Francisco International Airport to Orange County, California; Minneapolis; and Orlando, Florida, beginning the summer of 2017. With the addition of these new flights, Alaska Airlines and Virgin America will serve 20 of the top 25 destinations from San Francisco. 

"We're excited to grow our San Francisco hub by adding service to three of the most requested destinations by fliers," said John Kirby, vice president of capacity planning for Alaska Airlines. "Through the combination of Alaska Airlines and Virgin America, Bay Area fliers can now enjoy 113 daily flights to 32 destinations from three Bay Area airports giving our customers even more opportunities to both earn and burn miles as part of the nation's most award winning loyalty program."

Summary of new service:

The new four-times-daily service between San Francisco and Orange County builds on Alaska Airlines' recent growth of intra-California flights. Together, Alaska and Virgin America offer fliers 71 daily intra-California flights to 12 destinations throughout the state.

Tickets for the new routes will go on sale today. To purchase tickets on Alaska Airlines, visit www.alaskaair.com to find great savings, or call 1-800-ALASKAAIR (800-252-7522 for Hearing & Speech Impaired (TTY): Dial 711 for Relay Services). To purchase tickets on Virgin America, visit www.virginamerica.com or call 1-877-FLY-VIRGIN (877-359-8474).

Alaska Airlines will fly the Orange County and Minneapolis flights with 76-seat E175 jets, operated by SkyWest Airlines, which feature 12 seats in first class, 12 seats in premium class and 52 seats in the main cabin. The E175 boasts cabin dimensions on par with a narrow-body jet. Onboard amenities include Wi-Fi Internet access, and Alaska Beyond Entertainment, which includes free and premium entertainment direct to customer devices and power outlets in the first class cabin.

Virgin America will fly to Orlando with the Airbus A320 aircraft, featuring three custom-designed classes of service, touch-screen personal entertainment and an on-demand food and cocktail menu on every flight. In addition to a main cabin that offers custom leather seating, the airline's first class cabin offers plush white leather seating, 165 degrees of recline and lumbar massagers. The carrier's Main Cabin Select service offers 38 inches of pitch, free food and cocktails, an all-access pass to media, dedicated overhead bins and priority check-in/boarding.

Alaska's Combined Network
Alaska Airlines, together with Virgin America and its regional partners, fly 39 million customers a year to more than 118 destinations with an average of 1,200 daily flights throughout the United States, Canada, Costa Rica, Mexico and soon Cuba. With Alaska's Global Partners network, customers can earn and redeem miles to more than 900 destinations worldwide Learn more about what the merger means for customers at differentworks.com.

About Alaska Airlines
Onboard, Alaska Airlines customers are invited to make the most of their flight with amenities like power outlets at every seat, streaming entertainment direct to their device, Wi-Fi and an inspired food and beverage selection featured on most flights. Alaska Airlines ranked "Highest in Customer Satisfaction Among Traditional Carriers in North America" in the J.D. Power North American Airline Satisfaction Study for nine consecutive years from 2008 to 2016. Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan also ranked "Highest in Customer Satisfaction with Airline Loyalty Rewards Programs" in the J.D. Power Airline Loyalty/Rewards Program Satisfaction Report for the last three consecutive years.

Alaska Airlines is a subsidiary of Alaska Air Group (NYSE: ALK). Learn more on the airline's newsroom, blog, alaskaair.com, @AlaskaAir, facebook.com/alaskaairlines and linkedin.com/company/alaska-airlines.

About Virgin America
Virgin America customers continue to enjoy three custom-designed classes of service, touch-screen personal entertainment and an on-demand food and cocktail menu on every flight in addition to power outlets at every seat. The Main Cabin Select service offers free food and cocktails, power outlets, an all-access pass to media, dedicated overhead bins and priority check-in/boarding. Virgin America was named the best domestic airline from 2008-2016 by Travel + Leisure and the best domestic airline from 2008-2015 by Conde Nast Traveler. 

Virgin America is a subsidiary of Alaska Air Group. Learn more at newsroom, virginamerica.com, @VirginAmerica, facebook.com/VirginAmerica and linkedin.com/company/virginamerica.

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SOURCE Alaska Airlines