Airbus finally impurifies Alaska
From now on, Alaska Airlines will say goodbye to its "proudly all Boeing" slogan.
The carrier today released pictures of N625VA painted in the new color scheme of Alaska Airlines.
The CFM powered A320 was once an asset of Virgin America. It now becomes a subsidiary of Seattle-based Alaska Air Group. N625VA made its last 'Redwood' flight last week on the SFO-LAX before being flown to Southern California Logistics Airport (Victorville Airport) for repainting. The aircraft will be flown to New York today via San Fransisco and is expected to begin its first Alaska commercial operation today.
Alaska acquired Virgin America in December 2016 and is now repainting Virgin's 10 A319-100, 53 A320-200 and A321neo in the colors of Alaska's Boeing 737s. The Alaska rebranding is expected to be completed by the end of 2019.
(photo from Jetphotos by Derin)
Some of Virgin America's Airbus A321neo is already painted as Alaska livery. N925VA originally left the factory in Hamburg with a plain white coat of paint. After arriving in Miami for post-delivery configuration on Dec. 2, the aircraft was fitted with decals titled “Most West Coast.” This livery (below) is to celebrate the fact that both carriers cover the U.S. West Coast more than any other carrier. That A321neo originally had a small “Operated by Virgin America” titles near the nose. Now with Alaska taking over the NEO, they have proudly torn off that title.
(photos from Jetphotos)
Also, the carrier’s next three Airbus A321neo deliveries will feature special paint schemes. The airline wants to pay tribute to its growing West Coast presence, an internal memo read. Besides the loss of "proudly all Boeing" title, the merge of two completely different airlines has bought crashes to their own airline tradition. All the Virgin-unique styled purple mood lighting and the mid-air cocktails will be gone after this merge. Even Virgin Group founder Sir Richard Branson refused to give up on his baby, claiming that it will never look as good as before.
Alaska announced some changes coming in the next two years for its merge with Virgin America with a completely different style. The carrier has started to retrofit their Boeing 737 aircraft with expressive blue mood lighting. (photo below)
current Alaska Boeing 737 cabin (source: One Mile at a Time)
Earlier this year, Alaska introduced a brand-new Premium Class seating section with 35 inches of pitch and complimentary beer, wine, and cocktails. Beginning in the fourth quarter of 2018, the airline will add 18 new Premium Class seats to Airbus aircraft, as well as adding first class seats (going from eight seats to 12) customized for enhanced comfort: 41 inches of pitch, improved seatback storage pockets, cup holders, footrests and personal power outlets throughout the cabin.
A new uniform design is rolled out for all flight attendants, customer service agents, pilots, mechanics and ground crew.
The airline is trying to signify its geographical presence. Besides from the West Coast-inspired food and drinks, the carrier will feature music that "celebrates its West Coast roots" on planes, in airport lobbies, and at gates. In addition, the airline will retrofit all Boeing passenger jets with high-speed satellite Wi-Fi, with the remainder of the Airbus fleet to follow. Both fleets are planned to be fully satellite-equipped by the end of 2019. Free texting, 200 free movies, and TV shows will be provided for passengers to watch on their own devices (there are no seat-back TVs on Alaska's narrow-body fleet)
Besides from the refreshed and expanded airport lounges in Seattle, Portland, and Los Angeles, Alaska will increase its presence in major airports by building flagship lounges in San Francisco and at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport. Their expansion plans will double the square footage of their existing airport lounges. Alaska and Virgin America have been actively growing their newly combined networks since officially merging in December 2016. Earlier this month, they announced 21 new markets with 25 new daily departures out of San Francisco, San Diego, Los Angeles and San Jose, California – marking the largest addition of routes in company history.