Alaska Airlines fired back at Sir Richard Branson Wednesday, suggesting it won’t have to pay Virgin America licensing fees to his empire until 2040 as he claims.
The British billionaire on Monday said he was baffled he was baffled by Alaska Air Group Inc.’s decision to pay $2.6 billion for Virgin America just to dump the airline’s most valuable parts: the brand and some of its top employees. Branson held a minority stake in Virgin America until Alaska’s takeover.
Branson suggested the move to drop…