New Virgin airline in talks with Phila. about HQ Larry Rulison Virgin Group -- the $5 billion British conglomerate that operates Virgin = Atlantic Airways -- is in talks with Philadelphia and Pennsylvania offici= als about locating the headquarters for a new low-cost airline in the cit= y. = = Economic development officials are pitching the Philadelphia Naval Busine= ss Center -- the former Navy Yard -- as the headquarters location for the= new airline, which is going to be called Virgin USA, said Elinor Haider,= an assistant vice president with the Philadelphia Industrial Development= Corp. Virgin USA could provide hundreds of jobs for Philadelphia, and it= would also provide flights in and out of Philadelphia International Airp= ort and other major airports, she said. = Other major cities on both coasts are competing against Philadelphia for = the headquarters location. Haider wouldn't reveal the names of those citi= es, but an Oct. 6 story in the San Francisco Business Times, a sister pub= lication of the Philadelphia Business Journal, said that Philadelphia is = competing against San Francisco; New York; Washington, D.C.; Boston and L= os Angeles for Virgin USA's headquarters and 500 jobs that would go with = it. = Haider couldn't confirm that number, but she believes it would initially = be more like the "low 100s" and then it would grow larger as the new vent= ure grows. = PIDC, the city's Department of Commerce, the Governor's Action Team and t= he airport are involved in the discussions. The Governor's Action Team is= a group of state economic development specialists that report directly t= o Gov. Ed Rendell. The PIDC is a private, nonprofit organization that act= s as the city's economic-development arm. It typically works in concert w= ith the city's Commerce Department on deals. City Commerce Director James= Cuorato could not be reached for comment. = Haider says the new airline, which is still being formed, is working out = of offices in New York. But she said the city and state have had "initial= discussions" with Virgin about putting its headquarters in Philadelphia,= and Virgin officials toured the former Navy Yard in August. A decision i= s expected within several months, she said. = Haider says she believes Philadelphia has an advantage over other cities = because the PIDC owns the real estate it is pitching to Virgin and the si= te is close to the airport, which the city also owns. In addition, the co= st of living is cheaper in Philadelphia than in other cities, she said, a= nd that is important to the types of employees that Virgin USA would need= to hire, including pilots, flight attendants and reservations personnel.= = "It's really an ideal location for them," Haider said. "I feel very enthu= siastic about it." = Virgin officials in New York who are fielding calls about Virgin USA did = not immediately return calls seeking comment. Kim McFadden, regional dire= ctor of the Governor's Action Team, said she could not comment. = Philadelphia International Airport spokesman Mark Pesce confirmed that ai= rport officials are also working on the deal as it relates to service in = and out of Philadelphia International. = If Virgin USA were to decide to run service out of Philadelphia Internati= onal, it would be the second high-profile, low-cost airline to chose Phil= adelphia recently. In late October, Southwest Airlines Inc. announced it = would start service out of Philadelphia in 2004. The move is expected to = drive down prices and put pressure of US Airways Group Inc., which has a = hub in Philadelphia. = =A9 2003 American City Business Journals Inc. Roger EWROPS