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BURLINGAME, Calif. — Start-up airline Virgin America expects to begin flying next month after U.S. regulators gave it the final approvals needed for takeoff.

In separate actions Wednesday, the Department of Transportation authorized Virgin America to begin selling tickets, and the Federal Aviation Administration certified its jets as safe.

All that's left now is for Virgin America to release its initial flight schedule. The Burlingame-based airline said an announcement would be made soon so travelers could begin buying tickets.

The airline previously said it would fly from San Francisco International Airport to John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York. Within the first year, it said, it also intends to offer service in San Diego, Las Vegas, Los Angeles and Dulles International Airport in the Virginia suburbs of Washington.

Getting the right to fly proved daunting for Virgin America because of its ties to British billionaire Richard Branson, who came up with the idea for a new U.S. airline that would offer more comfort at a lower cost than the industry's long-established powers.

Branson's Virgin Group Ltd. is among Virgin America's primary financial backers, raising concerns that too much foreign control would be exerted over the U.S. airline. The Department of Transportation had tentatively blocked Virgin America's application.

After Virgin America made a series of concessions to minimize Branson's influence, regulators reversed course and approved the revised structure in May.