Alaska and JetBlue Bid to Acquire Virgin America
It's not just Starwood and Marriott/Anbang making big acquisition news this week — Virgin America is also on the market, and according to a Bloomberg story posted today, two major US carriers (Alaska Airlines and JetBlue) have both expressed serious interest in acquiring the carrier. Bloomberg cites "people familiar with the matter," which often indicates "off the record" confirmation from top executives. In other words, this is a very reliable report, and we could receive official confirmation as soon as next week.
Of course, all three airlines declined to comment, as is prudent when it comes to unconfirmed statements about publicly traded companies. It's a bit too early to say what either acquisition would mean for Virgin America and its Elevate program (which just announced a status match/challenge, by the way), and it's quite possible that another carrier could make a bid for Virgin, too. Any way you look at it, fewer airlines means less competition — which may (or may not) translate into higher fares for consumers.
Which airline do you want to acquire Virgin?
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