Virgin to fly special Pride Flight
Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Holidays are operating a one-off Pride Flight from London to New York next year.
The June flight will be hosted by Tituss Burgess, Broadway musical actor and star of the hit Netflic show Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.
It will be staffed entirely by LGBT+ pilots and cabin crew and will celebrate queer culture with special in-flight entertainment including a DJ, Drag Queen Bingo, Judy Garland singalong, inter-seat speed dating and special in-flight entertainment.
"At a time when we’re seeing the rights of minority groups under threat, it is more important than ever we stand up and make our voices heard," Burgess said.
"The LGBT community has made enormous strides over the last 50 years, and I’m so proud to partner with Virgin Holidays and Virgin Atlantic to mark this occasion in style and celebrate the hard-won freedoms from those who came before us."
Mark Anderson, global LGBT lead for Virgin Group and executive vice president at Virgin Atlantic, added: "We’re not the type of company to mark an occasion like this half-heartedly and we’re going to be pulling out all the stops to ensure the Pride Flight is delivered with a large serving of Virgin flair.
"We take our commitments to diversity and inclusion seriously, but you can rest assured we have a lot of fun along the way. This is going to be a show-stopping, ground-breaking, one-of-a-kind experience that we can’t wait to bring to the skies next June."
New York’s tourism body NYC & Company and the Alliance for Downtown New York will help plan the flight.
The June date has been chosen as it will be the 50th anniversary of New York City’s Stonewall Uprising, widely regarded as a pivotal moment in LGBTQ history.
A portion of ticket sales from the flight will be donated to The Attitude Magazine Foundation to advance community Pride initiatives in the UK and further fundraising and raffles will take place on board.
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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