Virgin America Signs Interline Deal With Korean Air

SAN FRANCISCO, March 9, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Virgin America, the award-winning California-based airline, today announces a new interline agreement with Korean Air (KE) – offering seamless travel on the networks of both carriers across their respective North American, Asian and South American routes.  Korean Air marks the ninth interline partner for the rapidly expanding U.S. domestic airline.  Virgin America has grown to 17 destinations, 148 flights a day and 2,500 teammates since its launch in August 2007.  In addition to the new KE agreement, Virgin America has interline agreements signed with Virgin Australia, Virgin Atlantic, Emirates, Singapore Airlines, Cathay Pacific, South African Airways, El Al and Qantas. For more, visit:  http://www.virginamerica.com/travel/virgin-partners.html

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"We're pleased to sign an interline agreement with Korean Air, an airline known for its award-winning, international service," said Adam Green, Virgin America's Director of Network Planning. "This agreement allows us to provide travelers with simple connections and continues the building of our strategic partnerships with foreign carriers that drive connections over our SFO and LAX bases."

The interline partnership offers a new choice for KE guests to connect at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), San Francisco International Airport(SFO), Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) and Las Vegas McCarran International Airport (LAS) to several other Virgin America destinations from Seoul (ICN).  Korean Air also flies nonstop from LAX-Tokyo (NRT) and LAX-Sao Paulo (GRU).  Effective as of February 22, 2012, the agreement will allow connecting guests to purchase interline tickets for travel between the U.S., Japan, Brazil, South Korea, and beyond via their travel agent or through KE's customer call center at 1-800-438-5000.  Both airlines will transfer baggage between connecting flights to guests' final destinations.

"We are delighted to partner with Virgin America to offer more great travel benefits and convenient connection options between Asia and the U.S.," says Korean Air Vice President of Marketing for the Americas, John Jackson. "This agreement represents collaboration between two world-class airlines dedicated to excellence and to offering the most comfortable and convenient way to travel."

Korean Air also offers daily service between Los Angeles and Seoul aboard the superjumbo. Passengers flying over the Pacific will find unparalleled comfort on Korean Air's A380: with only 407 seats on the aircraft, Korean Air offers the most spacious configuration of any airline.  The A380 superjumbo has 12 luxurious First Class Kosmo suites on the lower deck, while the upper deck is entirely devoted to Prestige Business Class. The all-Business Class deck features 94 full flat Prestige Sleeper seats. The aircraft also comes with a stylish onboard bar and lounge area where passengers can sample Korean Air's selection of exclusive cocktails as well as a first-of-its-kind 'Duty Free Showcase' which features a great variety of duty-free products with a dedicated cabin crew member to assist and advise passengers with all their shopping needs.

Known for its guest service, beautifully-designed cabins and unparalleled in-flight entertainment, Virgin America has swept the travel awards since its 2007 launch.  The airline has taken top honors as "Best U.S. Airline" in both Conde Nast Traveler's Readers' Choice Awards and Travel + Leisure's World's Best Awards for the past four consecutive years.  Virgin America's mood-lit, custom-designed new aircraft feature standard power outlets near every seat, Gogo® In-flight Internet on every flight and Red™ – the most advanced entertainment system in the U.S. In addition to a Main Cabin that offers leather seats with a deeper, more comfortable pitch, Virgin America's First Class cabin features international-grade amenities, including plush white leather seats with 55 inches of pitch and lumbar massagers.  The carrier's premium cabin option, Main Cabin Select, offers 38-inches of seat pitch, complimentary food and cocktails, an all-access pass to entertainment options, dedicated overhead bin space, one free checked bag and priority check-in and boarding.

Interline electronic tickets for Virgin America and KE connecting flights can now be booked through all the major Global Distribution Systems (GDS). Travel agents should refer to either carrier's GDS reference pages for further booking instructions.

Virgin America flies to San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, Washington, D.C., Seattle, Las Vegas, San Diego, Boston, Fort Lauderdale, Orlando, Dallas–Fort Worth, Los Cabos, Cancun, Chicago, Puerto Vallarta, Palm Springs and as of April 4th – Philadelphia.

About Virgin America: Headquartered in California, Virgin America offers guests attractive fares and a host of innovative features aimed at reinventing air travel. In just over four years flying, Virgin America was named "Best Domestic Airline" in the Conde Nast Traveler 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011 'Readers' Choice' Awards and "Best Domestic Airline" in Travel + Leisure's 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011 'World's Best' Awards. The airline's base of operations is San Francisco International Airport (SFO)'s sleek and sustainable new Terminal 2. The airline's new aircraft offer interactive in–flight entertainment systems and power outlets near every seat. Virgin America offers Gogo™ WiFi on every flight and hosts the largest in–flight entertainment library in the North American skies via the touch–screen Red™ platform. For more: www.virginamerica.com

About Korean Air:  Korean Air, with a fleet of 144 aircraft, is one of the world's top 20 airlines, and operates almost 400 flights per day to 119 cities in 40 countries. It is a founding member of the SkyTeam alliance, which together with its 15 members, offers its 487 million annual passengers a worldwide system of more than 14,500 daily flights covering 926 destinations in 173 countries. In 2011, Business Traveler named Korean Air the best Asian airline for the fifth consecutive year, while Global Traveler awarded the airline with best airline in northern Asia and best airport staff/gate agent. The carrier won the 2010 global travel catering distinction award by Pax International magazine while World Traveler magazine rated it as having the world's best in-flight service. Travel & Leisure magazine readers say it is one of the world's top 10 international airlines and readers of Conde Nast Traveler magazine voted Korean Air one of the world's top ten global airlines. More on Korean Air's programmes, routes, frequencies and partners is available at www.koreanair.com.

SOURCE Virgin America