Below you will see Virgin America’s latest email to me providing some information about the merger, but kind of nothing we didn’t already know.
“Dear cindy,
I wanted to follow-up on the news announced earlier this week that Virgin America has agreed to be acquired by Alaska Airlines. We’ve received an outpouring of support from many of you about your love for the Virgin America brand and the flying experience, for which we are incredibly humbled and grateful. We’ve also received questions about what this means in the short and long-term for loyal flyers like you.
In particular, many flyers have questions about whether there will be an immediate impact on their Points, Status and the flying experience they’ve come to expect from Virgin America. Please know that you will not see any changes during the next several months – and potentially until the end of the year – until the merger receives regulatory and shareholder approval. Furthermore, there will likely be no significant changes to your flying experience for as many as 18 months or more while the two airlines merge into one. Until the transaction is officially approved – typically a process that can take upwards of six months – both airlines will continue to operate independently and there will be no changes to our flight schedules, the Virgin America product and guest experience, Elevate Status levels or your ability to earn and redeem points. Each airline will maintain separate websites, separate guest service teams and distinct frequent flyer programs. If you book a Virgin America flight, you will fly on Virgin America. In short, there will be no short-term changes in what you have come to expect from Virgin America’s award-winning experience.
At the point when the Virgin America Elevate program is merged into the Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan program, you should also know there will be no disruption to your earnings or redemptions. Your Points balance and Status level will be honored in Alaska Airline’s Mileage Plan, which has been ranked the #1 airline rewards program by U.S. News and World Report for the past two years. In addition, you will be able to use your Status levels and earned Points across a significantly expanded network – including 114 destinations in North America and 900 global destinations through Alaska Airline’s robust network of international partners. This means that you can continue to fly Virgin America and accrue Points as normal, from now until when the plans combine, and you can be confident that all your points – whether earned prior to or after the transaction announcement – will be reflected in your new or existing Alaska Mileage Plan account.
For more, you can find our latest Q&A on our website. You can also call us on 1.877.FLY.VIRGIN (877.359.8474), should you have any questions. Elevate Silver or Elevate Gold members can contact us by calling your exclusive reservation line or send an email to your dedicated email address when you log into your Elevate account.
Thank you for your loyalty and for flying with us. Together, with Alaska Airlines, our intent is to make this integration as seamless as possible and to create the premier airline for West Coast travelers. As airlines both known for our commitment to operational excellence and guest loyalty – we hope to create an even better flying experience across an expanded network.
Sincerely,
Stuart Dinnis
Director of Loyalty
Virgin America”