Airbus A319 "Contents May Be Under Pressure" at San Francisco International Airport
Virgin America was tentatively cleared to fly by the U.S. DOT on March 20, 2007, but would not be given full permission until it changed its business structure by enacting several reforms as specified by the DOT. These reforms included the replacement of Fred Reid and the limiting of Virgin Group's influence on the airline.[15] Virgin America fought to keep Fred Reid as CEO,[16] However, as part of the DOT’s final approval in May, Reid was allowed to stay on nine months after the airline certification, six months as CEO and three months as a consultant.[17]
Virgin America started selling tickets in July 2007. Two years delayed, the airline made its inaugural New York and Los Angeles to San Francisco flights on August 8, 2007. In December 2007, C. David Cush replaced Reid as CEO of the airline.[18]
Virgin America reported a $270 million loss from August 2007, when it began operations, through the first two quarters of 2010.[19] The airline reported its first quarterly profit, of $7.5 million, in the third quarter of 2010.[20]
In early March 2009, there were reports that the U.S-based investors sold their stakes in Virgin America.[21][22] Virgin America's CEO refused to comment on "private financial matters", but stated that the U.S. investors had not decided that they wanted out of the company.[23][24][25]
On May 21, 2009, Virgin America became the first U.S. airline to offer Wi-Fi access via Gogo Inflight Internet on every flight. To kick off the service, Oprah Winfrey chatted with a flight attendant, Mandalay Roberts, aboard Flight 780 between Seattle and Los Angeles using Skype. Voice over IP will not be allowed on flights normally. The airline will charge for the service.[26] Between November 10, 2009, and January 15, 2010, the airline offered free WiFi with a subsidy from Google.[27]
2010s[edit]
In March 2010, Virgin America announced its intention to start flying to Toronto from Los Angeles and San Francisco, which, pending government approval, would make it the airline's first international destination.[28] On April 2, 2010, the DOT approved Virgin America's proposal to fly to Canada,[29] and flights began on June 29, 2010.[30] However, due to high operating costs and higher demand for Dallas/Fort-Worth, Virgin America terminated Toronto service on April 6, 2011.[31] Virgin America began its service to Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport on December 1, 2010, with non-stop to LAX and SFO.
In 2010, Black Canyon sold its stake in the airline to VAI Partners, a group of investors lead by Cyrus Capital Partners.[32]
In April 2011, Virgin America’s hub at San Francisco International Airport relocated to the newly remodeled Terminal 2,[33] sharing the gates with American Airlines.[34] In late October 2011, the airline migrated to Sabre’s global distribution system (GDS) that handles reservations, frequent-flier accounts, flight operations data and crew scheduling, needed to “handle future growth”, according to the Wall Street Journal. Difficulties with the changeover sparked widespread customer complaints.[35]
On December 12, 2012, Virgin America introduced their first airport l
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