=20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- This article was sent to you by someone who found it on SFGate. The original article can be found on SFGate.com here: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=3D/c/a/2007/05/19/BUGK0PTP4R= 1.DTL --------------------------------------------------------------------- Saturday, May 19, 2007 (SF Chronicle) Final OK for Virgin America to take wing at SFO/Department of Transportatio= n approves startup airline; flights to start this summer Carolyn Said, Chronicle Staff Writer Low-fare airline Virgin America was finally cleared for takeoff Friday by the U.S. Department of Transportation, after three grueling years of working to convince regulators that it is under American control. Virgin, with headquarters in Burlingame and its airline operations based at San Francisco International Airport, expects to start selling tickets within weeks and begin flying this summer, with inaugural service from SFO to New York's John F. Kennedy Airport. "We are jumping for joy that we can put our tracksuits on and get out in the stadium and compete in the grand meet of the airline business," Virgin America Chief Executive Officer Fred Reid said. Virgin, which has a staff of just over 200, plans to hire 1,000 people a year for the next few years, according to spokesman Gareth Edmondson-Jones. "Virgin America is the first airline to be based in San Francisco and in California," said Michael McCarron, SFO spokesman. "To have a national airline based in San Francisco will mean several thousand jobs both directly and indirectly. There are all the administrative jobs that go with an airline, plus all the support jobs -- caterers, office suppliers, taxi drivers." State and local politicians have welcomed Virgin America and its hiring potential with open arms. California job-training funds of $10 million helped attract the fledgling carrier in 2004. But federal officials had been more standoffish. Virgin America's affiliation with Richard Branson's London-based Virgin Group Ltd. was a major obstacle for winning approval. Virgin America had to restructure its ownership and governance to comply with U.S. laws limiting control of domestic airlines to American citizens. As a foreign entity, Virgin Group can control no more than 25 percent of Virgin America's voting shares. The new airline must report any loans from Virgin Group to federal regulators. Its U.S. directors must approve a trustee to represent Virgin Group. The new airline also faced opposition from various rivals, such as Continental Airlines. Getting approval "has been a very tough ride," Reid said. "One of the indicators is that my bald spot has grown faster than the hole in the ozone." Reid himself must step down within six months as a condition of approval. Although the former Delta CEO is American, the fact that he was hired by British entrepreneur Branson sparked concerns about Virgin America's autonomy. "I don't see any point in dwelling on that," Reid said. "I'll work day a= nd night for a considerable period of time and will be there to see the baby leave the nest." He declined to say whether the airline has identified a successor. Virgin America previously has said it expects to offer flights to Los Angeles, San Diego, Las Vegas and Washington, D.C., in its first nine months of operation. Reid declined to give specifics on where the airline will fly, but said = it will publish about six months of schedules, accounting for 1 million seats, once it receives the go-ahead to start selling tickets, which it expects to happen "within weeks." Virgin, which reportedly has $177 million in financing, will fly Airbus 319s and 320s out of SFO's International Terminal. SFO is welcoming two other discount carriers besides Virgin. Southwest Airlines, which left SFO in 2000, will resume service out of the airport in August, in addition to its Oakland and San Jose service. JetBlue started flying out of SFO May 3, in addition to its Oakland and San Jose service. E-mail Carolyn Said at csaid@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx --------------------------= -------------------------------------------- Copyright 2007 SF Chronicle <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> If you wish to unsubscribe from the AIRLINE List, please send an E-mail to: "listserv@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx". Within the body of the text, only write the following:"SIGNOFF AIRLINE".