Virgin America Begins Ticket Sales

Virgin America today announced it would launch flights next month and began taking reservations, following months of hurdles in gaining the U.S. Department of Transportation's approval to get off the ground.

Virgin America on Aug. 8 plans to launch its flagship route between San Francisco and New York JFK, as well as service between SFO and Los Angeles International. Beginning Aug. 29, the carrier will launch LAX-JFK service, and on Sept. 26 will serve Washington Dulles from San Francisco. In October, the carrier will commence service between San Francisco and Las Vegas, as well as LAX and Dulles.

The carrier expects to serve as many as 10 cities within a year of operation and up to 30 cities within five years.