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San Jose To Offer Daily Virgin America Flights To Los Angeles

SAN JOSE (KCBS) –Virgin America will begin offering daily service from Mineta San Jose International Airport to Los Angeles International Airport starting in May, an airport official said Monday.

Airport spokesperson Rosemary Barnes said the airlines will start with four daily non-stop flights to Los Angeles and hopefully, expand with demand.

"If you have all these high-tech companies and start-ups, these people are flying for both business and leisure and they're looking to fly on the hippest airlines around and Virgin America is that," Barnes said.

San Jose To Offer Daily Virgin American Service To Los Angeles

Virgin America, which has offered service from San Francisco International Airport for years, is well-known for its low fares and amenities such as in-flight Wi-Fi.

The A320 aircraft will hold up to 149 passengers. Mineta San Jose International Airport will waive Virgin America's landing fees for the first year. It becomes the fifth airline with regular service to Los Angeles out of San Jose.

Texas businessman Shane Stevens said if Virgin works into his schedule, he'll try it.

"I always wanted to try something different and it seems like some of the services kind of vary in all the airlines," he said. "If you have another option, give it a try. Customer loyalty is not what it used to be as everything's pretty competitive now. For someone new in the market, I'm willing to give it a shot."

San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed said he is thrilled with the new service as he said Virgin is an innovator and the company will fit in well in Silicon Valley.

Virgin America's service to Los Angeles begins on May 1.

(Copyright 2013 by CBS San Francisco. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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