Shares in Virgin America airline surged more than 30% in their first day of trading on the Nasdaq stock exchange in New York on Friday.
Sir Richard Branson owns nearly 25% of the US domestic carrier, which is an offshoot of his London-based Virgin Group.
Virgin America started flying in 2007, and after several years of losing money, finally became profitable last year.
It reported profits of $10.2 million on revenue of $1.42 billion in 2013.
Virgin America sold 13.3 million shares that were initially priced at $23, raising about $307 million for the company.
The airline primarily operates long haul flights within the US, such as from New York to Los Angeles with a fleet of 53 aircraft.
However, the airline offers fewer destinations than some of its rivals, and carries only a fraction of the total passengers of competitors such as Southwest.
One index of US airline shares hit a 13-year high recently, and analysts expect that upward flight path to continue helped by lower oil prices and economic recovery, the BBC reported.