Virgin Founder Richard Branson Unhappy With Alaska Air Brand Decision

SEATAC, WA — Visiting Sea-Tac Airport on Monday to promote new Virgin Atlantic service from Seattle to London, Virgin founder Sir Richard Branson took a swipe at Alaska Air over its decision to phase out the Virgin America brand.

Seattle-based Alaska completed a $2.6 billion merger with Virgin America in late 2016. Last week, the airline announced in a post on the Alaska Airlines blog that it would phase out the Virgin America brand by 2019.

Branson during a news conference questioned what Alaska was buying, if not the Virgin America brand.

“Why did they bother?" he said, according to the Seattle Times."I genuinely believed they would treasure the brand."

That brand is characterized by an irreverent flying experience compared to most airlines, with purple in-cabin mood lighting, fun safety videos, on-demand entertainment and black leather seats.

Branson's Virgin Atlantic airline, which he still runs, will begin nonstop service to London from Sea-Tac with the larger Boeing 787-9 planes. The Virgin Atlantic flight replaces a Delta route that used the smaller Boeing 767.

“Seattle has long been on my list of cities to fly to and I’m delighted to launch this new service,” Branson said in a statement. “As the home to Microsoft, Amazon and of course Boeing, Seattle’s one of the fastest growing cities in the U.S. and as a mecca for entrepreneurs and innovators, it’s a perfect fit for the Virgin Atlantic brand.”

Image via Port of Seattle