Virgin American Airlines Introduces No Chihuahua Left Behind Fare Sale

To mark its expansion to its third Mexican destination and to celebrate Puerto Vallarta’s roots as an animal sanctuary, today the carrier launches a “No Chihuahua Left Behind” fare sale in support of its ongoing Chihuahua rescue and airlift efforts.  As the only San Francisco-based airline, Virgin America first teamed up with the City of San Francisco Animal Care and Control (SF ACC) in 2010 to fly Chihuahuas to new homes on the East Coast.  The overpopulation of Chihuahuas in California continues to force West Coast animal shelters to look for help from shelters on the East Coast — where there is demand for the dogs.  Due to the impact of Hurricane Irene and the associated re-accommodation of guests on all open flights, the airline postponed plans to fly an “Operation: Chihuahua” airlift from San Francisco to New York today.  Even though the SF ACC Chihuahuas are temporarily grounded, the airline is keeping the dogs on “standby” for a rescheduled airlift — and is also pledging $25** for every Mexico booking made during the three-day fare sale to support local dogs and future airlift flights.

The “No Chihuahua Left Behind” fare sale is good for travel between September 6, 2011 and December 15, 2011 on all Virgin America routes — including Mexico destinations (the airline flies to Cancun, Los Cabos and as of December 2: Puerto Vallarta).  Tickets must be purchased by 11:59pm PDT on September 1.  Main Cabin fares start as low as $49*** on short-haul routes and from $129*** (restrictions, taxes and fees apply) on all Mexico routes, including the new SFO-PVR route.**** Tickets are now available for purchase at www.virginamerica.com and at 1.877.FLY.VIRGIN       (            1.877.359.8474      ). Those who book a Mexican flight during the three-day fare sale will help sponsor a Chihuahua, with the airline pledging $25 per Mexico booking** to support the SF ACC via both cash and in-kind flights for future airlifts.  Those who book will also receive a share-able Facebook photo of one of the dogs they helped “adopt” in an email booking confirmation. The carrier’s Facebook page is inviting guests to vote on which SF ACC dogs should be “upgraded” on the rescheduled SFO-JFK flights.