I'm a new Virgin FO, just finishing up my A320 type rating next week. From what we know, Virgin America will be around at least for the next 2 years or so. That is how long it will take to jump through all the legal stuff to operate under one certificate.
We have had several meetings with the Alaska management and they have yet to create an ultimate plan for the future. They will be looking in the next few months to see if they will keep the Virgin Brand or ultimately phase it out. They are crunching the numbers to see what could possible work, given that we have two very different products that each airline offer and cater to very different market groups.
I will be flying the A320 at least for the next 5 years from what I know. That is when the first leases start coming off and we will find out if eventually we will have to get a 737 type in the future.
None the less, mergers and acquisitions are a part of this industry. It was quite fast how quickly this buyout occurred. All within a few weeks. We were joking in our class that I went from a 25 year old major airline pilot to a Legacy pilot all within 3 weeks and have yet to get a single landing over here. I am looking forward to the future and hope that the merger will be done quickly and with a good heart and attitude from both sides.