Jaunted

On future international flights:
Having hinted to Bloomberg that Canada was in the cards with possibly upcoming destinations of Toronto and Vancouver, Cush tells Jaunted that the reason they love Toronto so much especially is because of Virgin Group's connection to the city. "It would be a brand extension, with how well other Virgin arms like Virgin Radio and Virgin Mobile do there. But there is also a large film sector which would do well with connections to the film industry in LA."

On plans to come to good old Chicago:
Although the Delta-Northwest merger is freeing up six gates soon at O'Hare, that doesn't mean VA can jump in. "The gates are still owned by Delta, and we hear that Delta is looking to get rid of them, but then that's where money enters the equation." VA is now relying on the City of Chicago to solve the problem of having 91% of their flights come from legacy carriers like American and United, and Cush is "confidant that the city will find a solution to that."

On new routes from JFK: Unfortunately JFK has slot and gate issues just like O'Hare but with more regional jets taking up space where larger planes and other airlines could do better. Cush says that VA is always looking for more space at JFK, but any new routes will be to the west coast, with possible additions of direct flights to Seattle and San Diego.

Related Stories:
· Virgin American To Service Fort Lauderdale In November [Jaunted]
· Virgin American Studies Atlanta, Dallas As Florida Routes Added [Bloomberg]
· Virgin America [Jaunted]

[Photo: Cisco Adler and David Cush]