Airline foreign ownership restrictions mean getting to this point has not been easy. Ridgway labels such hurdles as ridiculous: "This industry created the global economy, so why we're still subject to all these archaic rules is beyond any of us. It will change, but it's just painful."
Virgin America, in particular, has faced ownership scrutiny since its inception, making the topic very relevant to Cush: "The nature of travel is about crossing national boundaries and the fact that we can't have efficient economic structures and efficient governance structures to facilitate that is crazy. As soon as it breaks down in aviation it's going to be the travelling public that wins," he argues, tagging on: "I feel like I'm running for office."
