No decisions regarding the Virgin America brand have been made after Alaska Air finalised the $2.6 billion takeover of the US domestic carrier.
Alaska plans to continue to operate the Virgin America fleet with its current name and service for a period of time while it conducts extensive customer research to understand what passengers value the most.
Virgin America will continue to fly under its brand with no immediate changes to the onboard product or experience.
Alaska Air chief executive Brad Tilden said: “We appreciate that there is great interest in the future of the Virgin America brand among customers and employees alike.
“This is a big decision and one that deserves months of thoughtful and thorough analysis. We plan to make a decision about the Virgin America brand early next year.”
The deal sees Alaska Air become the fifth largest airline in the US with almost 1,200 daily flights to 118 destinations.
Tilden said: “Beginning Monday, Virgin America Elevate members and Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan members will enjoy reciprocal rewards earning across each other’s networks.
“We plan to make this the most customer-friendly merger ever, and we will have much more to announce over the coming weeks.”
The combined carrier will be led by Tilden. Ben Minicucci will serve as CEO of Virgin America in addition to his role as chief operating officer and president of Alaska Airlines.
Peter Hunt, previously Virgin America senior vice president and chief financial officer, will serve as president of the Virgin America subsidiary, reporting to Minicucci.
Both Minicucci and Hunt’s positions will remain in effect until the airlines obtain a single operating certificate, expected in early 2018.