But Conditions Include His Removal From Airline
The Department of Transportation (DOT) has tentatively approved
Virgin America's application to start a new US airline, finding the
carrier is owned and controlled by U.S. citizens and is fit to
operate as a domestic airline.
The DOT Order proposes that Virgin America finalize changes
already offered by the company to address concerns about its
citizenship, and to satisfy certain other pre-launch
conditions.
"We worked very hard to address the Department's initial
concerns, and are pleased that they have recognized our extensive
work and good faith commitment to meet and exceed those
requirements," said Virgin America CEO Fred Reid (shown at right).
"We plan to meet with our shareholders immediately to address the
Department's proposed conditions."
As Aero-News reported
Tuesday, those conditions include the immediate
removal of Reid as CEO, due to what the DOT considers to be his
overly-close relationships with foreign investors, including Virgin
founder Sir Richard Branson.
Virgin America said it hoped to receive final DOT approval in
anticipation of a mid-summer launch from its base at San Francisco
International Airport to New York's John F. Kennedy Airport. Four
additional cities -- Los Angeles, San Diego, Las Vegas and
Washington D.C. -- are planned to be added within nine months of
the company's first flight.
"Today's order puts us one giant step closer to flying," said
Virgin America spokesman Gareth Edmondson-Jones. "We look forward
to finally getting our wings -- it will be a huge win for our
employees, investors, supporters, and the traveling public."
"We'd like to thank Secretary of Transportation Mary Peters,
Assistant Secretary Andy Steinberg, and the entire DOT team for
tentatively finding us fit, a US citizen, and ready to fly. Once
finalized, this decision will create more jobs, service, and
competition for US travelers."
The company also expressed its appreciation to its key
supporters in this process, especially San Francisco Mayor Gavin
Newsom, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, Congresswoman Anna Eshoo,
Senator Diane Feinstein, and Senator John Ensign, San Francisco Bay
Area businesses, the City of Burlingame and the tens of thousands
of other supporters who used their website to voice their
encouragement for the airline's "let VA fly" campaign.
Virgin America is also in the final stages of receiving approval
from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) as the first new
airline ever to be certified through the agency's new Air
Transportation and Oversight System (ATOS) safety program -- the
FAA's newest and most advanced safety surveillance program. The
airline finished its formal FAA safety evaluation in December 2006,
and FAA officials commented that it was "the best certification
they had seen in 25 years."
Virgin America plans to launch domestic US scheduled airline
service this summer, utilizing Airbus A319/A320 aircraft (some of
which the airline will now have to callback, after leasing them out to other
carriers.) The company has firm orders for 33 new
aircraft including 18 aircraft purchased from Airbus and 15
aircraft leased from General Electric Capital Aviation
Services.
The airline's principal hub will be San Francisco International
Airport.
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