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

June 23, 2009 at 1:24 PM | 1 Comment

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

June 22, 2009 at 9:59 AM | 0 Comments

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]

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

June 22, 2009 at 6:33 AM | 0 Comments

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.

British Airways Ups the Ante With New Las Vegas Route

May 18, 2009 at 8:46 AM | 0 Comments

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]

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

May 14, 2009 at 12:21 PM | 0 Comments

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

May 4, 2009 at 10:56 AM | 1 Comment

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

April 20, 2009 at 11:57 AM | 0 Comments

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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Five Air Fare Sales in Case You Get a Tax Refund

April 15, 2009 at 1:41 PM | 0 Comments

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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Would You Watch Richard Branson's Pitch TV?

April 13, 2009 at 1:08 PM | 0 Comments

Hey, this plane is pretty nice, but you know what would make it better? That waking-up-at-3-AM-with-the-TV-on feeling. But Richard Branson's plan to have entrepreneurs pitch their new projects on Virgin Atlantic is not just an initiative to make us feel better rested; it may be the latest in recessionomic entertainment.

PitchTV, which was announced March 31 on Branson's blog, makes every passenger an instant millionaire whose attention is valuable for the would-be Vince Schlomi. Entrepreneurs can upload their pitches and have them compete for votes on the blog, with the most attention-getting video (currently there are five) getting further uploaded to Virgin Atlantic planes to add to the line-up.

There's something a little dodgy about handing your pitch over to a serial entrepreneur like Branson, even though he offers a hand up in the name of helping budding businessmen (as he once was). But is the captive audience provided by Virgin Atlantic or any other plane really the one you want to associate with your brand-to-be? Personally, we are now unable to watch "My Life On The D-List" thanks to a red-eye flight in which it was the only thing remotely interesting on on a Virgin America seat-back TV. (Kathy, it's not you.) So we're asking, what do you watch in-flight?

Related Stories:
· Calling all entrepreneurs – introducing PitchTV [Richard Branson: Business Stripped Bare]
· ShamWow pitchman Vince Shlomi arrested for punching prostitute [Chicago Sun-Times]
· 'Pitchmen' celebrates advertising as entertainment [LA Times]

[Photo: moonagewebdream]

Virgin Atlantic Suckers Us with Their 'Air Weddings' and Other Cruel Travel Jokes

April 1, 2009 at 4:56 PM | 0 Comments

Virgin Atlantic and anything with Richard Branson's name behind it has a long history of crazy announcements and parties so it's no surprised that we totally got suckered by their April Fools Joke today announcing through their email newsletter, V Married, a way for couples to get hitched in-flight.

Take over our Clubhouses for your bachelor and bachelorette parties, then take off with up to 300 guests for your wedding in the sky, complete with pilot officiator and air hostess bridesmaids.

Enjoy a champagne reception (with real champagne flutes), followed by a three course meal and speeches through the headphones.

It's all the excitement of a wedding, elopement and honeymoon rolled into one, with your friends and family along for the ride. Now all you need to do is say 'I do'.

Is it wrong that we were extremely saddened that this was just an April Fool's Joke? Can you imagine listening to the best man's speech through headphones? And everyone wouldn't need to drink as much since the altitude would help you along fater. Then again, there would be limited room for the groom to pull out his breakdancing moves and diving for that bouquet could get rather hazardous. And we'd hate to think what the bathroom wait would look like!

Keep reading for more April Fool's Day Jokes!

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Calling All Richard Branson Lookalikes: Win a Trip to New York

February 28, 2009 at 3:15 PM | 1 Comment

That Richard Branson sure is one cool dude. No matter what he's doing, he's always got a big smile on his face like he's having the time of his life, probably because he is. He's the archetype of the rich, international playboy, with the windblown hair, sun-bleached goatee, and eyebrows arched in perpetual delight. If that describes your look as well - or at least your attitude - Sir Richard would like to hear from you. Virgin is sponsoring the Richard Look-A-Like Competition, which will award the winning doppelgänger with a pair of Virgin Atlantic Premium Economy tickets to New York, a pair of VIP tickets to the airline's 25th birthday party, and one night's accommodations for two people.

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Airfare Sales For Those Who Couldn't Get Away for Prez Week

February 18, 2009 at 12:13 PM | 0 Comments

[UPDATE: The Virgin America 25 percent off code listed below is no longer valid. Only members of the Virgin Atlantic Flying Club who receive the email newsletter will receive a special code for this promotion. Sorry for the confusion.]

The truth is some of you probably didn't go away for Presidents Week because you cleverly suspected that travel costs would be jacked up during this time. So either you vacationed before Abe Lincoln's b-day or you're still waiting for the costs to come down a bit.

The good news is there are a few special sales going on for folks traveling in the U.S. There are even specials for folks who got laid-off (Well, kinda.) However, you have to make up your mind pretty quickly as some promotions are about to expire. First up, The Virgins:

1. Virgin Atlantic's Discounts for Virgin America: The Virgin Atlantic Flying Club has offered its (Flying Club only) members 25 percent off Virgin America flights. Use code [redacted] to book flights before April 1st. Currently, the two loyalty programs--Flying Club and Elevate--are separate entities which irks Virgin fans to no end but the email promo we received hinted at a partnership between the two in the future. "[T]his special offer is just the start of our growing relationship, so watch out for more to come in the future!" Hmmm....

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