Virgin America vanishes along with Branson's U.S. dream

The last vestiges of the Virgin America brand are now aviation history, bringing a formal end to Richard Branson's brash, groundbreaking effort to put some European flair-replete with cheeky branding and mood-lighting-into U.S. skies.

Alaska Air Group Inc. has finished repainting the Airbus fleet it acquired when it bought the Branson-backed carrier…