Alaska Air to acquire Virgin America

I certainly hope this is not going to lead to a downgrade of Virgin America's services. They are my #1 go to US carrier

Alaska is a great airline and if this helps them compete with Delta we'll all be better off.

I noticed that on the news this morning. I wonder if they'll retain the Virgin branding or just operate everything as "Alaska"?

I too wonder whether Alaska Air, which I like, will just swallow Virgin America and use the available slots or see an opportunity to provide, on at least some flights, a better experience that apparently is the norm on Virgin America flights. Wish Alaska Air flew to Europe.

I too like Alaska Air so it may work out to be a good thing all around. I remember when Alaska Air was a small airline and now look how they've grown.

Nothing good for consumers ever came from company mergers and acquisitions.

Less competition = higher prices. Fortunately for us they don't fly to Europe.

" I remember when Alaska Airlines was a small airline. . ." And when I lived in Alaska in the 1970's we called it Elastic Scarelines and no Alaskans would fly with them if we had a choice. We flew Wien Air, which has since disappeared.

Fast forward to the 1990's and I am living in Seattle, but my mom is in a nursing home and two sons are in college, all in the Bay Area. I am flying down on Alaska Airlines at least once a month, on comfortable planes that are always on time. Before long I have earned enough miles with them for two free tickets to Australia on Qantas. In another few years, it was two business class tix to Venice with my Alaska miles.

Alaska has now been my favorite airline for years. Since our home base is Seattle and we fly mostly in the west and up to Alaska, we use them a lot. And their mileage program has been very good to us. We can even fly our daughter in New York home for holidays with our miles on Alaska planes.

I just hope this merger does not change things. I heed Roberto's warning---mergers rarely work out well. And I find it ironic that Alaska, who has been so proud of being an all-Boeing airline,* will now have Airbus planes in the fleet.

• Their Horizon partner flies non- Boeing prop planes, the Bombadier Q400.

I'd echo Lola's comments above. I fly Alaska a LOT (several times every month). I think they are great, exactly as they are. My worry is that as they get bigger, they will become worse - just like every other airline that got big and started treating their passengers like human baggage.

And I agree, mergers never benefit consumers.