Delta Air Lines subpoenaed by Alaska Airlines amid dispute over former Virgin America trademarks

The three airlines—Alaska, Delta, and Virgin—are now competitors after previously cooperating. In court documents obtained by Atlanta News First, Alaska stated: “This application arises in the context of a decade-long trans-Atlantic scheme that harms competition, flouts regulatory directives, and necessitates discovery of critical evidence uniquely in Delta’s possession.”

After merging with Virgin America in 2018, Alaska ceased using the brand name within a year and stopped paying royalties for it. However, a UK court ruled that Alaska was still required to pay royalty fees to the Virgin Group despite ending use of the name. This led to ongoing litigation between Alaska and the Virgin Group about whether Alaska could unilaterally end royalty payments while retaining trademark rights.

Brown Rudnick reported that while Alaska argued it could stop using—and paying for—the brand at any time, the Virgin Group contends payment is necessary to keep trademark rights. The original merger agreement did not allow unilateral termination of licensing by Alaska according to court filings.

Alaska Airlines has recently expanded through a merger with Hawaiian Airlines and continues acquiring new Boeing 737 MAX aircraft following an incident involving a door plug failure in 2024. The airline is increasing capacity at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport as it seeks growth across domestic and international markets on the US West Coast.

It remains uncertain when or how this legal contest among Alaska Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and the Virgin Group will be resolved or what impact it may have on competition within US commercial aviation.