This should help ease some of the doubts expressed about VBA's...

This should help ease some of the doubts expressed about VBA's ability to attract US passengers to fly VBA across the Pacific if they could not easily connect with internal US flights:

Tuesday, January 27, 2009, 11:42am PST
Virgin America to add Orange County flightsSan Francisco Business Times - by Eric Young
Expanding its network along the west coast, Virgin America Inc. will start service to Orange County beginning in April.

The airline said it will offer five daily flights to John Wayne Airport from San Francisco. Orange County will be the ninth destination in Virgin America’s national network, which has established service along the west coast and between the east and west coasts.

The move into Orange County comes as Virgin America is preparing a code sharing alliance with Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd. and Virgin Blue, giving the domestic carrier global reach for the first time.

Burlingame-based Virgin America said it expects to have a deal in place with Virgin Atlantic, which flies over the Atlantic Ocean, by June. The timing of a deal with Virgin Blue, which plans to fly over the Pacific Ocean, is in flux. The Australian-based airline is unsure when Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) will deliver planes it wants to use on a new route between Sydney and Los Angeles.

The alliances envisioned by Virgin America are a relatively low-cost way to make the airline more attractive to U.S. fliers seeking to travel overseas, or to international travellers coming to the United States. Under code sharing alliances, a passenger can fly on different airlines and both carriers share revenue under a prescribed formula.