Virgin America has announced plans for a partial US stock listing or initial public offering (IPO).
The US carrier, based in California, formally announced its intention to list yesterday.
Virgin America is part owned by Richard Branson’s Virgin Group, which holds a 22% stake. The principal owner is private Equity firm Cyrus Capital Partners which holds 72%.
The Virgin Group is barred from owning more than 25% of the airline under US rules on foreign ownership of carriers.
The company gave no further details or even a timetable for the listing.
However, its filing to the US Securities and Exchange Commission outlined plans to restructure and for the carrier to grow beyond its existing bases in Los Angeles and San Francisco.
Virgin America will begin flying between New York LaGuardia and Dallas in October.
The move comes as US carriers report a surge in profits. In the past week American Airlines has reported a record quarterly result and Delta Air Lines a $1.4 billion pre-tax profit, up $600 million on a year ago.
American Airlines’ quarterly profit of $864 million was almost four times up on a year ago following the carrier’s merger with US Airways at the end of last year.
United Airlines also reported soaring operating profits, up 51% year on year to $919 million for the April-June quarter.
Virgin America’s SEC filing noted the carrier made a $10.1 million profit last year.