"In Philadelphia, we saw two things that were particularly attractive," said Virgin America president and CEO David Cush. "One was high ticket prices, which generally when we come in drop quite a bit.
"Second, about half the travelers going between Philadelphia and San Francisco and Los Angeles fly nonstop. The other half connect through other cities, like Chicago or Dallas-Fort Worth.
"That tells us that it is an underserved market. People are connecting because there are not enough nonstop seats on the route."
Cush said Philadelphia had "strong business and leisure travel connections" to California in higher education, finance, biotechnology, and pharmaceuticals. "There are ties between our regions that can be further developed."
Getting Virgin America here is "exciting news for Philadelphia," said airport chief executive officer Mark Gale.
"Any time that we are able to bring new air service in to the airport, that's going to stimulate competition, provide lower fares for consumers, and, in the case of Virgin America, their product is highly touted."
Since its founding in 2007, Virgin America has chalked up accolades including "Best U.S. Airline" from Conde Nast Traveler and Travel & Leisure magazines.
Virgin America sells itself as fun and cool, geared to the business traveler with such amenities as touch-screen entertainment, live TV, WiFi, power outlets under every seat, and cabin lighting that changes from purple, to pink, to blue, depending on the light outside.
Passengers can order onboard food and drinks via their seat-back touch screens.
When entering markets that offer little low-fare competition, Cush said, Virgin America has historically seen fares drop by up to one-third.
