Virgin Summer At
SFO
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When
it came time to unveil the first plane to the public, VA invited
Jefferson Airplane singer Grace Slick, California Governator himself
- Arnold Schwarzenegger, and the Mayor of San Francisco Gavin Newsom.
Slick confirmed choice of name for the bird with
this observation:
"Grateful Dead”(another SFO ’60s
rock band) would have been a bad name for an airplane."
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Now that Virgin
America Airlines has won tentative approval from the Department of Transportation
for its application to begin flying out of SFO, the region’s high-tech
shippers are hoping that a more forgiving outbound rate structure will
fall into place this summer.
“This move is long overdue,”
said Craig Bellows, a freight forwarder in Burlingame (where Virgin is
headquartered).
“With more players coming on line,
the marketplace has finally become competitive.”
Virgin America was persuaded to come to
the Bay Area three years ago by local government officials who pledged
approximately $10 million in state job-training funds.
Currently, the company has nearly 200 employees.
Local food shippers were also glad to hear
of the development, as it will mean more choices when sending perishable
freight to destinations like Las Vegas.
“We have a lot of restaurant accounts
in Vegas, and this means an alternative to using Southwest,” (Airlines)
said Vince Gammon, a fresh fruit shipper in Santa Clara.
Southwest Airlines plans to return to SFO
this fall, and JetBlue will begin service here early next month.
The local business community has long championed
all three carriers, but are especially appreciative of Virgin for its
initiative and its promise to provide up to 3,000 new jobs in the Bay
Area.
The company has reportedly raised $177 million
in financing for the operation.
Virg in
America has until April 18 to tell the DOT how it plans to comply with
transit regulator’s demands.
If all goes well, its operations could begin
as early as this summer with flights linking SFO to JFK.
Aircraft pressed into service are likely
to be Airbus 319s and 320s out of the International Terminal.
Carrier spokesmen said it will also open
service from Los Angeles, San Diego, Las Vegas and Washington, D.C., in
the first nine months of operation.
 Spokesmen
were jubilant when releasing the news:
“This order puts us one giant step
closer to flying,” said Gareth Edmondson-Jones.
“We look forward to getting our wings.
It will be a huge win for our employees, investors, supporters and the
traveling public.”
Equally delighted was Michael McCarron,
(pictured right) SFO’s information officer:
“We’re very excited to hear
that, and we're looking forward to working with them this summer,”
he said.
“Hopefully, in the next several weeks
we’ll see a schedule.
“There are several different scenarios.
We'll have to see which one plays out.”
The most disruptive DOT condition (from
the carrier’s perspective) is that Virgin America’s CEO, Fred
Reid (pictured above left) resign his position.
This is in keeping with federal rules that
require U.S. citizens be at the helm.
Reid’s response was characteristically
stoic:
“We worked very hard to address the
department's initial concerns, and are pleased that they have recognized
our extensive work and good-faith commitment to meet and exceed those
requirements,” he said.
“We plan to meet with our shareholders
immediately to address the department's proposed conditions.”
Although Reid is an American, he was hired
by London-based Virgin Group Ltd., which owns 25 percent of its stock.
The DOT also insisted that Virgin America
“provide advance notice to the department should the carrier get
additional loans from non-U.S. investors.”
Reid, meanwhile, is considering an offer
to remain with the airline as a consultant.
Patrick Burnson
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