Virgin will launch its Orange County service with a special
introductory one-way fare of $59 for its main cabin. Other fares will
be $145 in the new Main Cabin Select premium service and from $209 in
the First Class cabin. For the introductory fares, tickets must be
purchased by April 14 and your trip must begin on or after April 30 and
be completed by June 10.
Tickets are on sale today on Virgin America’s website and at 877-359-8474.
“Orange
County is an enormously important travel market for us,” said Virgin
America chief executive David Cush in a statement released by the
airline. “We couldn’t be more pleased to be partnering with John Wayne
Airport to bring our unique, award-winning service to the region.”
Virgin
said last month it was considering flying out of JWA after some airline
slots became available on the airport’s waiting list.
The
coveted slot openings, which are restricted due to noise controls,
became available after the collapse last April of Aloha Airlines.
Aloha flew three daily round trips to and from John Wayne Airport.
Alaska Airlines also cut back its JWA service last year.
Midwest
Airlines was the last commercial airline to initiate service at John
Wayne. It started flying out of Orange County in 2004, but
discontinued service in early 2005, said airport spokeswoman Jenny
Wedge.
Virgin’s chance to come to Orange County shows the major shakeup in the airline industry over the last year.
In
June, Virgin was No. 5 on JWA’s waiting list for the airport’s limited
slots, behind Air Canada, Hawaiian Airlines, Air Tran and WestJet.
Wedge
said today that Air Canada has been approved to start service after
April 30. JWA officials are in negotiations with the airline and
anticipate flights will begin by summer.
Hawaiian Air said it
had no plans to launch any service if it was offered slots. Air Tran
and WestJet were noncommital about flying out of JWA.
The Virgin
announcement comes at a hard time for the airport. JWA passenger
traffic dropped 9.9% last year as tourists and business people cut back
on travel. It is only the second time since the Thomas F. Riley
Terminal opened in 1990 that the airport has seen year-over-year
passenger traffic decline. The only previous drop was in 1998.
JWA wasn’t alone. LAX traffic fell 4.7% last year.
|
|