/ / / / /

Why Is Record-Breaking Pilot Chuck Yeager Suing Virgin America?

January 4, 2010 at 12:19 PM | by | Comments (0)

We always thought that in-flight WiFi kind of advertise itself, but apparently it’s necessary to get a little marketing behind it to bring it to the masses. Virgin America was just trying to be clever when they sent an email to some frequent flyers referencing astronaut Buzz Aldrin and record-breaking pilot Chuck Yeager, but one of the air travel pioneers was not too happy to be associated with the airline without his permission.

Chuck Yeager—famous for first breaking the sound barrier—filed a lawsuit against Virgin America claiming that he didn’t give permission for his name to be used in their communications. The retired Air Force general usually doesn’t lend his name out for commercial purposes, but we’re thinking that he’s just a little jealous that everyday travelers can now be part of a monumental moment in air travel...and he's just old. Just so you know, the original Virgin America email stated, “Not unlike Buzz Aldrin or Chuck Yeager, you have the opportunity to be part of a monumental moment in air travel.”

It’s understandable that someone doesn’t want his name to be used without permission, but the guy is part of aviation history—just like Internet access in the sky, right? Virgin America was just letting everyone know that he was a hero and pioneer. We really liked The Right Stuff—both the book and the movie—but we did get the impression that Yeager was a little jealous that he didn’t get selected to head up to space. Buzz Aldrin—someone who did go to space—didn't seem to mind being referenced in the Virgin America ad. We’re just saying.

And now for the official response from Virgin America:

General Yeager’s accomplishments were noted in one email (not a press release) sent to Virgin America frequent flyers earlier this year as a reference to historical “firsts” in aviation and was in no way intended to read as an endorsement of Virgin America. We are all big fans of General Yeager’s groundbreaking contributions to aviation history, and we hope to try and resolve this issue with his attorneys.

Related Stories:
· Aviator Chuck Yeager Sues Virgin Over Use of His Name in Ad [Bloomberg]
· Jaunted's 2009 Airline In-Flight WiFi Guide [Jaunted]
· Lawsuit Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: DC9T]

Comments (0)

Post a Comment

Return to » Why Is Record-Breaking Pilot Chuck Yeager Suing Virgin America?

Join the conversation!

Not a member? .
Use of this Site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement (effective 3/21/12) and Privacy Policy (effective 3/21/12). © Condé Nast. Your California Privacy Rights. All rights reserved. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Condé Nast.
Ad Choices