Virgin America (VX) is set to take off for Seattle. Service begins on January 31, and VX is offering deals as low $77+ each way from San Francisco.

Since its maiden voyage in 2007, Virgin America hasn’t shied away from taking on more established carriers, and their new service to Seattle will put them squarely on Alaska Air’s turf. Alaska Air isn’t taking things lying down, though. As the Cranky Flier reports:

“Alaska has effectively decided to turn their Seattle - California services into a shuttle-style operation with flights either on the hour or half hour starting April 27. From Seattle to LAX, southbound flights will depart 15 times daily on the hour (up from 12 daily) while northbound flights will depart on the half hour.”

It will be interesting to see if Virgin America’s promise of better service, more amenities, and that smooth mood lighting can win travelers away from Alaska Air.

Virgin America has just announced a 4-day airfare sale that features airfares as low as $118+ each way for coast-to-coast flights, and airfares for as low as $44+ each way for travel out West. Visit our Travel Deals page for more details.

Virgin America announced a holiday airfare sale that offers great deals for travel through March 12. The sale only lasts until Friday, though, so you have to act fast. Check out our deals page to learn more (and look here for more info about the dozens of new daily flights Virgin America is adding– a big win for consumers!)

While Virgin America hasn’t quite crossed that wonderful barrier of $99 each way that Southwest Airlines so effectively promotes. I can guarantee the folks that travel between Los Angeles and Washington D.C. don’t often lay their eyes on this price point — until now.

Checkout the latest airfare “skirmish” and take advantage if you can — with Virgin America pushing the envelope, I hope prices stay this low for a while …

Our CEO sounds off with some predictions and frequently asked questions about the newly launched Virgin America. There is never a dull moment when it comes to the Virgin Empire and this saga is only on the first few pages.

Check out the predictions and see if you agree and let’s hold his feet to the fire in a year to see how well he did…