Southwest was incredibly successful and disruptive to the airline industry (to the point where today's legacy carriers look much more like Southwest than like the flagship carriers of the 70s and 80s). Virgin America has yet to do anything that significant, and there's a good chance it never will.
Well, it turned a profit it's most recently reported quarter and has indicated expectations for a profitable 2013. It arguably is defining the customer experience for low/mid-cost airline travel.
Southwest was incredibly successful and disruptive to the airline industry (to the point where today's legacy carriers look much more like Southwest than like the flagship carriers of the 70s and 80s). Virgin America has yet to do anything that significant, and there's a good chance it never will.