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Airlines

Alaska Completes Virgin America Acquisition But Changes Will Come Slowly

Brian Sumers

Photo Credit: Alaska Airlines has a new irreverent campaign to celebrate its acquisition of Virgin America. Alaska Airlines

Skift Take

Alaska got what it wanted, and it's now among the strongest U.S. airlines on the West Coast. But the hard part is still to come. Alaska must meld two airlines with different cultures and customer bases.

Alaska Airlines closed its acquisition of Virgin America on Wednesday and quickly sought to persuade travelers the duo belongs together, using cheeky messages like "salt and caramel was an unlikely combo, too." "We’re an odd couple that works well together," Alaska said on its merger website, differentworks.com. "We may seem like an unexpected pair—but our differences complement each other." The new Alaska is now the nation's fifth-largest airline, but though the two carr

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