Alaska Airlines to drop Virgin America name and logo

SEATTLE – Alaska Airlines says as part of its merger with Virgin America, it will drop the Virgin America name and logo.

Alaska Airlines said in a news release Wednesday that the combined company will retire the Virgin America name likely sometime in 2019.

Alaska Airlines Vice President of Marketing Sangita Woerner said “while the Virgin America name is beloved to many, we concluded that to be successful on the West Coast we had to do so under one name.”

The company also said it will make enhancements to flight service including redesigned cabins, new seats, mood lighting and high-speed satellite Wi-Fi.

Since closing the merger in December, the airline has announced 21 new markets with 25 new daily departures out of San Francisco, San Diego, Los Angeles and San Jose, California.