Virgin America is a U.S. based low-cost airline that began service on 8 August 2007. The airline's stated aim is to provide low-fare, high-quality service for "long-haul point-to-point service between major metropolitan cities on the Eastern and West Coast seaboards". "blank">On the Record: Fred Reid," _The San Francisco Chronicle, March 19 2006. San Francisco International Airport is Virgin America's principal base of operations. Virgin America's frequent flyer program is known as eleVAte and, while not officially launched, it is expected to run on a "dollars spent versus miles accrued" model.

Virgin America, though the brainchild of British entrepreneur Richard Branson, is a U.S. airline. By law, no more than 25% of a US airline may be owned by foreign interests and must be under the "actual control" of U.S. citizens; VAI Partners LLC owns 75% of the capital stock and is responsible for appointing two-thirds of the voting members of the board of directors. The remaining 25% of the company is owned by Virgin Group, which also licenses the Virgin brand to the airline. Virgin America is separate from Virgin Atlantic and as such is under no obligation to work with Virgin Atlantic, Virgin Blue, Virgin Nigeria, Virgin Galactic or any other companies that share the Virgin brand name.