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Nice Moove: Virgin Atlantic To Add Cowshed Spa To Gatwick Airport

The cows have come home: Virgin Atlantic's clubhouse at London's Gatwick Airport will be closed until the end of November for renovation, including adding a brand new Cowshed Spa for its passengers.

"Cowshed Spa" sounds like an oxymoron, like that other British invention Shabby Chic, but the premium spa brand was named for the original purpose of the building that houses its first location, at the Babington Hotel in Somerset county. (There are no cows there now.) Its six locations in England include one in the London Heathrow clubhouse, where passengers can get treatments like hot stone facials and full-body salt scrubs. Cowshed is also the official spa of the SoHo House in , or so we hear because we can't get in.

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Tags: Travel Gear / Virgin Atlantic / Eurostar / Green Travel / Fashion Travel / → All Tags

Dress Your Family In Eurostar Remnants and Virgin Hot Air Balloons

A couple years ago, we were all able to live our greatest dream of wearing repurposed airline seat covers, thanks to Worn Again, which turned worn-out covers from Virgin Atlantic planes into bags and accessories.

This year, they've taken the collaboration several steps further by branching out from Virgin to include Eurostar, and hiring UK designer Christopher Raeburn to create the products. And for the first time, all of the products are completely made in the UK.

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Tags: Train Travel / Virgin Atlantic / Eurostar / Europe Travel / → All Tags

Virgin Atlantic And Eurostar Hook Up For The Good Of Intercontinental Travel

Planes, trains and automobiles, indeed! Today, Virgin Atlantic announced that they've struck a deal to partner up with the Eurostar train, making it possible to book a seamless journey on both international flights and high-speed European rail.

For example, book a flight to London-Heathrow on Virgin Atlantic and you'll have the option to also book and reserve a seat on a Eurostar train from London to Brussels or Paris. No more separate ticketing necessary; hop your flight then hop a train through the Channel Tunnel. Of course it eliminates the need for the connecting flight to the same European capitals, but taking the train is often preferred.

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Tags: Airplane Food / British Airways / Singapore Airlines / Airline News / Cathay Pacific / Virgin Atlantic / → All Tags

Times UK Names The Top Airline Meals In The Sky

In what was probably both the best and worst assignment of a journalist's career, the Times UK looked at in-flight meal service this weekend, and aside from tasting a slew of flash-frozen meals, they actually came out of it stomachache-free and with a winner.

First, however, they discuss approaches to the cuisine for major airlines like Singapore, who still believe flying to a special occasion and thus the "economy dining experience is specifically constructed to suggest dinner in a posh restaurant," and Virgin Atlantic, who go the opposite route with comfort food, or "the sort of wholesome naughtiness you might eat curled up on the sofa with a good film."

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Tags: Virgin Atlantic 25th Anniversary / Party Report / Party Dispatch Report / Richard Branson / Charles Ogilvie / Virgin Atlantic / → All Tags

Virgin Atlantic Shakes Its Tail Feather All Night Long For 25th Anniversary

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to party with a billionaire, or at least a bevy of foxy flight attendants? If so, last night's Virgin Atlantic 25th Anniversary Bash was it: the travel party of the year with a flight simulator, celebrity appearances, booty shaking on the dancefloor, and red martinis garnished with rose petals.

Held on a rooftop in Tribeca, Richard Branson's "only party this year" kicked off with his descending from the second floor on the arms of four VA flight attendants, who all then danced to Deniece Williams singing her 1984 hit "Let's Hear It For the Boy." Those who weren't immediately dancing, as people boogied nonstop from 9pm until midnight, either headed up to the roofdeck to talk travel or amused themselves with all the classic games—giant Connect Four, anyone?

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Virgin Atlantic Celebrates 25th Anniversary With 24-Hour Sale Today

In case you haven't already taken a gander at our on-the-scene picture of Richard Branson and supermodel Kate Moss going for a wingwalk at London-Heathrow, it's Virgin Atlantic's 25th Anniversary today. And, as it proper on these sorts of momentous airline occasions, VA is passing on the fun with a 24-hour fare sale.

Only available for booking today, for travel between June 26 and December 20, Virgin has reduced its one-way economy fares as low as $181 and premium economy for $364. Of course those rates are most easily found on the Newark to London route during fall, but New York and London in autumn is far better than summer, so why not? With taxes and fees, this brings the VA roundtrip to a total of $526, which we easily found for dates throughout October and November.

Now is the time to gather your buddies together and discuss doing do a British pub crawl in fall, or ring up your significant other or best friend and shout into the phone: "let's go to London!" Because seriously, a carrier as cool as Virgin doesn't drop to these lows everyday—more like every 25 years. Book now on VirginAtlantic.com.

Related Stories:
· 25th Anniversary Deal [VA]
· Virgin Atlantic 25th Anniversary Coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: vidiot]

Tags: Virgin Atlantic 25th Anniversary / LHR / Virgin Atlantic / Richard Branson / Kate Moss / → All Tags

Live @ Virgin Atlantic's 25th Birthday Bash in London

Sir Richard Branson and Kate Moss just did a photo shoot on the wing of VA's Lady Penelope here at Heathrow. The two were later joined on the wing by Branson Next, Sam and Holly. Kate Moss? She is British right? Guess that explains her appearance on the wing.

Today is Virgin Atlantic's 25th birthday and the celebration, which is now ongoing in London goes trans-atlantic later this morning. While the 1984 inaugural VS1 flew from Gatwick to Newark, today's birthday flight will go from LHR to EWR.

Branson just announced that Virgin Atlantic has placed an order for $2.1 billion worth of Airbus A330-300 aircraft. Delivery of 5 planes will be in 2011, while the second 5 will arrive in 2012. These planes are 10% more fuel efficient than todays and will all have USB ports and power sockets as well as email capabilities.

New Virgin Atlantic destinations were also just announced: Beijing, Vancouver and Cancun were mentioned by Sir Richard at his LHR presser today. Furthermore, Branson noted that it is "likely inefficient big carriers will disappear, and in a sense they should. In a forest, when some big trees die new saplings can get going." The VA founder went on to lament that upstarts like his Virgin America can not get additional slots at JFK because of legacy carrier squatting at NYC's biggest airport.

Tags: New Routes / Las Vegas / London / British Airways / Airline News / LAS / LGW / Virgin Atlantic / → All Tags

British Airways Ups the Ante With New Las Vegas Route

Las Vegas may have a fake Venice, New York and Egypt, but perhaps they should start thinking about installing a replica Trafalgar Square now that British Airways has announced plans for a new non-stop route from London.

Due to go direct from the land of fish and chips to the city of all-you-can-eat buffets starting this fall, the once-daily roundtrips from London-Gatwick to McCarran will join Virgin Atlantic in shipping over the Brits and their pounds sterling to drop in casinos. According to info obtained by the Las Vegas Sun, England is already "the No. 3 provider of foreign tourists to Las Vegas behind Canada and Mexico."

This whole business with the added flights is also about to give "Triple 777s" a new meaning, as BA's arrival on VA's route means that their planes will be going head-to-head for a jackpot win on Vegas supremacy. As if the BA thorn in Richard Branson's side wasn't in deep enough already. And just like everyone else on their way to the "Sin City," all British Airways wants to do is score.

Related Stories:
· British Airways to Start Daily Service to Las Vegas [LV Sun]
· Las Vegas Travel [VegasChatter]
· British Airways Coverage [Jaunted]

[BA photo: griffs0000; Triple 7s via AskGamblers]

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Richard Branson's 'No Way BA-AA' Campaign Gets Personal

In a saga that now spans a decade, Virgin CEO Richard Branson is again ramping up his criticism of the proposed merger of American Airlines and British Airways. This time, however, it's personal.

In a statement made at The National Press Club in Washington DC, Sir Richard warned against the merger's adverse affects on employees and passengers, especially those really feeling the recession:

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Lounging at The Airport: Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse

Airport lounges promise respite from the sad public seating at the gates and the unhealthy diet offerings of the terminal food courts. But of course, at a premium price. All week long at Jaunted we will be detailing what it costs to lounge at the best international airline lounges, because the domestic offerings that we featured last week got us dreaming of much, much more. Got any suggestions or tips? Let us know.

Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse
· How Much: If you're flying in Upper Class, just walk right in, no fee for you (although you did kind of pay for it within your ticket price). If you didn't throw down for the expensive seat, you can still get in if you are Flying Club Gold or have an American Express Centurion card—that's the ritzy black one to all us regular folk. People who have booked their vacations with Virgin Holidays can use the clubhouses for a fee of £35 at Gatwick and £60 at Heathrow.
· Internet Access: Free WiFi is available in all of their clubs, but you probably won't use it since there's so much other stuff to see and drink.

Keep reading after the jump for more peeks at club perks.

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Whoopi Goldberg Can Fly, Thanks to the Teachings of Richard Branson

Can we get a "whooppee!" for Whoopi?! This month, the comedian successfully battled her fear of flying and managed to complete her first airplane flight—on a private jet to London—without the help on her on-board doctor, ready with sedatives. So how, after a career full of touring by bus, did Whoopi Goldberg finally face her Twilight Zone fears? We can start by thanking good old Richard Branson.

Since 1997, his Virgin Atlantic pilots and crew have been teaching "Fear of Flying" courses over in Britain, which these days go for around £233.83 ($340.74) per person. To give Whoopi a hand, Virgin sent their movement simulation seats, virtual flight goggles and some of their crew to the set of the The View, making Whoopi's lesson a first for this course on American soil.

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Tags: Air Fare Sales / Five Air Fare Sales / Virgin Atlantic / Allegiant Air / Southwest Airlines / Continental / American Airlines / → All Tags

Five Air Fare Sales in Case You Get a Tax Refund

Today is Tax Day and if you aren't out protesting in a Tax Day Tea Party, then perhaps you're like us, fantasizing about getting a fat tax refund and spending it on travel. Of course, the only problem is that some of these sales require you to book immediately to take advantage of the deal. So make sure there's room in your budget just in case that rebate doesn't come in like you thought. Below, we've rounded up Five Air Fare Sales in Case You Get a Tax Refund.

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