"The Wall Street Journal" was among the first with the news, writing Alaska Air "has emerged as the likely winner of an auction for Virgin America ... after beating a rival bid by JetBlue Airways." Alaska Airlines would pay about $2 billion for the acquisition. Still, the "Journal" suggests the tie-up is far from certain: "There is no guarantee Alaska Air ultimately will clinch the deal, but if it does, an announcement could come Monday."

Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. is testing some changes to its beverage program, including a new mezcal-spiked margarita, organic sangria and high-fructose-corn-syrup-free Coke Life as a fountain drink, according to a report Thursday. Westword interviewed master sommelier Richard Betts, who is working with Chipotle to rework the beverage program at one unit in the chain's home market of Denver.

Within the USA, JetBlue's flat-bed seating is to be available between Boston and Los Angeles starting Oct. 20. JetBlue initially will offer Mint on one of its three daily flights between the cities before expanding it to all Boston-LAX flights in November. Elsewhere, JetBlue will add Mint seating to two Caribbean routes from New York and to one Caribbean route from Boston.

Several elements are notable about the burger bar called Burger Theory that opened this month in Phoenix. One is that the restaurant is not just part of a new Holiday Inn complex; the concept is owned by Holiday Inn, a unit of InterContinental Hotels Group. And perhaps because it is sited within a Holiday Inn and needs to be attractive to as wide a clientele as possible, Burger Theory is the quintessential 21st-century burger bar with all the "hand-crafted and local" benefits we've seen become commonplace.

In an April Fools prank that you probably wish was actually real, the insurance brand created a new product called "Election Insurance." The idea, from Leo Burnett Chicago, taps into a poll from Vox which showed that 28% of voters would actually consider leaving the country, or moving to Canada, if the candidate they don't like wins the election.

A new ad touting Mexico as a dream destination takes a slightly more emotional, less confrontational approach, but its message is clear: workaholics are missing all the good stuff in life. The short film, called "Doppelganger Tourists," centers on two nose-to-the-grindstone workers named Ann and Mike who, like more than 40% of Americans, didn't take a single vacation day last year.