Virgin America launches flights to Portland, Oregon

Route of the Week: Virgin America to Portland

Real and fake: Portland Mayor Sam Adams and Virgin America’s CEO David Cush were joined by actor Kyle MacLachlan who plays Mayor of Portland in the comedy TV series Portlandia. Virgin America now serves Portland from both San Francisco and Los Angeles.

• Virgin America expanded its network on the US West Coast on 5 June. From its bases in San Francisco, CA (SFO) and Los Angeles, CA (LAX), Virgin America now flies to Portland, OR (PDX) with its A320 aircraft. From LA, flights are operated twice-daily, while the San Fran route is one frequency short – a single operation on Sundays – of the same frequency. Both routes are highly competitive, with United operating 61 and Alaska Airlines 41 flights a week on the San Francisco route, and Alaska 39 and United 21 from Los Angeles.