Virgin America IPO Takes Flight on the Nasdaq Market Friday

David Cush, CEO of Virgin America, tells TheStreet’s Jill Malandrino, while Virgin America is touted as a low cost carrier, it is effective because of the company’s production model, and it is even more of a pure low-cost model than competitor carriers like SouthWest and Jet Blue. The key is a single fleet-type, highly productive employees and point-to-point service. Cush says this is a great time in the market overall, and the company was ready to go public at this point, giving Virgin America access to capital it did not have before. In terms of growth, there are five airplanes coming in 2015, followed by another in 2016, bringing the total fleet count to 53, or 10%-15% growth. Cush believes that is a good long-term, sustainable rate for the company, allowing for margin expansion without upsetting the balance in the airline industry.