Alaska Air CE sees challenge in keeping Virgin customers after merger

Alaska Air expects it will be challenging to keep customers who are loyal to Virgin America after the 2 companies merge, Alaska Air's CE said Thursday. Alaska Air said earlier this month that it would buy Virgin America, a carrier with cult status among leisure and business travellers on the US West Coast, for US$2.6b. CE Brad Tilden said "the biggest challenge" ahead will be appealing to its own customers as well as Virgin America's passengers, after that airline is merged into the Alaska brand. Virgin America has a distinctive style, with in-flight mood-lighting and media-rich entertainment. "We are aware of the value that that company has brought to its customers. Our goal isn't to lose that," Tilden said. "Our goal is to gain that as a foothold in the state of California as something that we grow in the decade or two ahead." <br/>