Basis of Presentation (Policies)
3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2015
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]  
Consolidation
The condensed consolidated financial statements of Virgin America Inc. (the "Company") for the three months ended March 31, 2014 include the accounts of the Company and its variable interest entity, VX Employee Holdings LLC, for which it was the primary beneficiary until all of the shares held by VX Employee Holdings LLC were sold to the public as part of the Company's initial public offering (the "IPO") in November 2014 as discussed below.
Basis of accounting
These unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared as required by the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission (the "SEC"). Certain information and footnote disclosures normally included in financial statements prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles ("U.S. GAAP") have been condensed or omitted as permitted by the SEC.
Use of estimates
The financial statements include all adjustments, including normal recurring adjustments and other adjustments, which are considered necessary for a fair presentation of the Company’s financial position and results of operations. Operating results for the periods presented herein are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for the entire year.
Prior period reclassifications
Certain prior year amounts have been reclassified to conform to current year presentation. These amounts were not material to any of the periods presented.
Credit card holdbacks and receivables
Credit Card Holdbacks and Receivables
Credit card holdbacks and receivables are amounts due from credit card processors associated with sales for future travel and are carried at cost. Under the terms of the Company’s credit card processing agreements, certain proceeds from advance ticket sales are held back to serve as collateral by the credit card processors, due to the Company’s credit and in part to cover any possible refunds or chargebacks that may occur. These holdbacks are short-term, as the travel for which they relate occurs within twelve months. As of March 31, 2015, the Company recorded $32.5 million in credit card holdbacks and $19.0 million in credit card receivables. The holdback amounts are net of the $100.0 million letter of credit facility issued on the Company's behalf to certain of its credit card processors by the Virgin Group. As of December 31, 2014 the Company had no net holdbacks outstanding and $9.6 million of credit card receivables
New accounting standards
New Accounting Standards
In February 2015, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued an accounting standards update that eliminates the deferral of FAS 167, which has allowed entities with interests in certain investment funds to follow the previous consolidation guidance in FIN 46(R), and makes other changes to both the variable interest model and the voting model. In some cases, consolidation conclusions will change. In other cases, reporting entities will need to provide additional disclosures about entities that currently aren’t considered variable interest entities (VIEs) but will be considered VIEs under the new guidance provided they have a variable interest in those VIEs. The guidance will be effective for financial statements issued for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2015 and interim periods within those fiscal years. The Company does not expect this accounting standards update to have a material impact on the consolidated financial statements.
In April 2015, the FASB issued an accounting standards update that simplifies the guidance related to presentation of debt issuance costs. The guidance requires presentation of debt issuance costs on the balance sheet as a direct deduction from the face amount of that note, consistent with debt discounts. The guidance is to be applied retrospectively to the financial periods presented as a change in accounting principle. The guidance will be effective for financial statements issued for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2015 and interim periods within those fiscal years. The Company does not expect this accounting standards update to have a material impact on the consolidated financial statements.