Well, unlike the East Coast (not even sure if they know Alaska is the 49th State), most travelers in the West Coast are both extremely familiar and comfortable with the Alaska Airlines branding.

I flew VX more for their product, and not for the "Virgin" thing. I really don't care about branding. If AS (or any carrier) offers a better product than UA/B6/DL/AA from SFO, they get my business.

I just want to see robust competition where all consumers will benefit.