Burlingame, Calif. -- The Department of Transportation (DOT) today granted final approval for Virgin America, a new low fare U.S. airline, to begin operations. The company is planning a mid-summer launch.
In its final order, the DOT found that the company fully complied with all requirements regarding fitness, U.S. citizenship requirements, and control. The DOT also acknowledged that this final approval had been contingent upon the company's acceptance of several additional conditions that were made public in March when the DOT tentatively approved Virgin America’s application.
Now that the company has been formally approved, the next step will be to seek a waiver to start selling tickets.
Virgin America’s first flights will be between its home base of San Francisco (SFO) to New York (JFK). The airline also plans to serve Los Angeles (LAX), Washington/Dulles, San Diego, and Las Vegas within its first year of operation.
The airline expects to serve as many as 10 cities within a year of operation and up to 30 cities within five years. Additional cities under Virgin America’s consideration include: Atlanta, Austin, Baltimore, Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers, Hartford, Houston, Indianapolis, Jacksonville, Kansas City, Miami, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Nashville, Newark, New Orleans, Orlando, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Providence, Portland, Raleigh-Durham, Sacramento, Salt Lake City, San Antonio, San Jose, Sarasota, Seattle, St. Louis, Tampa, and West Palm Beach.