Virgin America vanishes along with Branson’s US dream

The last vestiges of the Virgin America brand are now aviation history, bringing a formal end to Richard Branson’s brash, groundbreaking effort to put some European flair—replete with cheeky branding and mood-lighting—into US skies. Alaska Air has finished repainting the Airbus fleet it acquired when it bought the Branson-backed carrier three years ago. The 71st and final Alaska Airbus A321neo was scheduled to roll out of a painting facility in Victorville, California Sunday after nine days of refurbishments, resuming commercial service Monday. Alaska is still working to convert all of the former Virgin interiors, a task it expects to complete by next spring. Virgin America’s sale, which occurred despite a protest by Branson, a minority shareholder, marked the beginning of the British billionaire’s retrenchment from airlines. The following year, he cut his share of Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd.—his first airline venture back in 1984—to 20% as Air France/KLM acquired a 31% stake in the carrier. Delta owns 49%. “As I get a little older, I want to be certain that all the necessary building blocks are in place for Virgin Atlantic to continue to prosper and grow for the next 50 years,” Branson wrote in a blog post in 2017. Virgin Group has also trimmed its stake in Virgin Australia to 10%. Four major industrial groups, including Etihad Airways and Singapore Airlines, own more than 80% of the airline.<br/>