Alaska Airlines and Virgin America began selling tickets Dec. 21, for new daily nonstop flights from San Francisco International Airport to Orange County, California; Minneapolis; and Orlando, Florida, beginning the summer of 2017. With the addition of these new flights, Alaska Airlines and Virgin America will serve 20 of the top 25 destinations from San Francisco.
"We're excited to grow our San Francisco hub by adding service to three of the most requested destinations by fliers," said John Kirby, vice president of capacity planning for Alaska Airlines. "Through the combination of Alaska Airlines and Virgin America, Bay Area fliers can now enjoy 113 daily flights to 32 destinations from three Bay Area airports giving our customers even more opportunities to both earn and burn miles as part of the nation's most award winning loyalty program."
Alaska Airlines will fly the Orange County and Minneapolis flights with 76-seat E175 jets, operated by SkyWest Airlines, which feature 12 seats in first class, 12 seats in premium class and 52 seats in the main cabin. The E175 boasts cabin dimensions on par with a narrow-body jet. Onboard amenities include Wi-Fi Internet access, and Alaska Beyond Entertainment, which includes free and premium entertainment direct to customer devices and power outlets in the first class cabin.
Virgin America will fly to Orlando with the Airbus A320 aircraft, featuring three custom-designed classes of service, touch-screen personal entertainment and an on-demand food and cocktail menu on every flight. In addition to a main cabin that offers custom leather seating, the airline's first class cabin offers plush white leather seating, 165 degrees of recline and lumbar massagers. The carrier's Main Cabin Select service offers 38 inches of pitch, free food and cocktails, an all-access pass to media, dedicated overhead bins and priority check-in/boarding.
