Here's what it's like to fly on Alaska Airlines, which is buying Virgin America

When Alaska Airlines announced in April that it would acquire rival Virgin America for $2.6 billion, I was devastated.

I love everything about flying on Richard Branson's airline, from the purple mood lighting to the catchy in-flight safety video (which has been watched over 11 million times on YouTube). I'm not alone. Virgin America was just named the best overall airline by WalletHub, which looked at cancellations and delays, complaints, and in-flight comfort.

It's unclear what parts of the Virgin brand will be integrated into Alaska Airlines after the merger later this year. But by the looks of Alaska Airline's recent customer Q&A, fans are freaking out.

On a recent trip from San Francisco to Seattle, I flew Alaska Airlines (not because I wanted to, but because there were no Virgin America flights available). Here's what it was like.

It was my first time flying Alaska Airlines.

I checked in at the kiosk and had to sign in twice to print a luggage tag and to print a boarding pass.

When I boarded the plane, a yellowish hue cast over the cabin. No mood lighting like on Virgin.