Virgin America to fly to Orange County

Virgin America expanding its network along the west coast; it will have its airplanes now take off from the John Wayne airport from April 30.

Virgin America is partially owned by Britain’s Virgin group limited is based in Northern California. They will fly five flights daily from John Wayne to San Francisco which is their hub.

“Orange County is an enormously important travel market for us. We couldn’t be more pleased to be partnering with John Wayne Airport to bring our service to the region,” said Virgin America Chief Executive David Cush.

Orange County will be ninth in the list of their national network services in the west coast and between the east and west coast.

The move into the Orange County comes as the airline prepares for a join venture with Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd. and Virgin Blues and for the first time goes global bringing an end to their domestic career.

Virgin America expects to have a deal with Virgin Atlantic and will have flights over the Atlantic Ocean by June end.

Due to ATF price rise, which was later followed by the global economic slowdown, the number of passengers at the John Wayne airport decreased by 10 % in 2008, compared to that in 2007 according to the spokesman for the airport.

To attract more fliers and offer reasonable rates to fly overseas, the airline have reduced rates and is planning a kick-start with introductory fares starting at $59 for its main cabin.

Under code-sharing alliances, a passenger can fly on different airlines and both carriers share revenue under a prescribed formula.

American Eagle, a part of Texas’s AMR Corp., United Airlines, a part of Chicago’s UAL Corp., and Utah’s SkyWest Inc. already offer a similar route between OC and San Francisco.