Virgin America Eyes Austin as Possible Expansion City

Bloomberg reports that Virgin America, Richard Branson's sexy low-cost domestic airline, is considering Austin as a possible city to add to its dozen or so destinations. The company, whose hub is in San Francisco, mostly services California and the East Coast, and recently added Fort Lauderdale as its tenth market.

Other cities also being considered include Dallas and Atlanta, which would allow it to better compete with American Airlines and Delta, respectively. The company's CEO admitted to Bloomberg that Chicago also was a top priority, but that the current carriers there refused to give up any gates.

"Atlanta is certainly on the list. It’s a big corporate headquarters city," Cush, 49, said in a telephone interview. "We have analyzed Dallas and Austin, places with big corporate and technology bases that certainly would have some synergies with San Francisco and Los Angeles."

Assuming Austin is able to lure them here, there's plenty of space at ABIA to be had.