This Is Your Captain Speaking...Dinner Is Served

SOUTH NORWALK, Conn., Nov. 2, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Virgin Atlantic has announced an innovative and delectable new dining service in all of its Economy Class cabins as part of the airline's recently introduced 100 million pounds Sterling product investment. This highly anticipated offering once again further elevates the Virgin Atlantic inflight experience.

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"We have a passionate team of food experts, hospitality managers and designers who have put every single aspect of our meals service under the microscope and our goal was to make sure that any ideas we came up with made our passengers' journey even better than it was before," said Paul Sands, Head of Customer Experience. "After a difficult period for the industry we have invested 100m pounds into our product and the result is the best meal experience ever in our economy cabin."

Now available on all Virgin Atlantic flights, the new meal service will create a more restaurant-like environment with a redesigned menu that offers a fresh approach to dining at 30,000 feet.  Upon reaching a comfortable cruising altitude, passengers are offered a 'welcome cocktail'– a refreshing blend of fruit juices served "virgin" or with vodka.

Following new beverage service, Economy Class passengers will have the option of selecting a main course from a menu featuring a selection of fresh and inventive dining options. The redesigned and upgraded meal service will be presented on smaller, soft-touch, non-slip metal trays with redesigned cutlery that will give passengers more space to enjoy their overall in-flight experience.  

When the lights are dimmed and the inflight movies begin, a retro movie theater environment is created as Virgin Atlantic's cabin crew make their way through the aisles of the plane wearing  custom designed usherette trays, serving guests treats including the airline's signature on-board ice cream and popcorn.

With environmental sustainability constantly at the forefront of all Virgin Atlantic initiatives, this new dining service has made significant enhancements in this area as well: the new soft touch tray removes the previously used paper tray liner and is 46 percent more greenhouse gas efficient over its life cycle than the tray it replaces. The new menu is also printed on FSC approved, part recycled paper. With these changes, Virgin Atlantic will save 132kilos per aircraft, which is a 4 percent reduction in CO2, the same amount used to produce 167,000 stylish new Economy glasses.

For further information about Virgin Atlantic visit www.virginatlantic.com.

**Images available upon request

About Virgin Atlantic Airways

Virgin Atlantic Airways, one of the world's leading long-haul airlines, was founded in 1984, and currently has 38 aircraft in its fleet. Virgin Atlantic offers service from 10 US cities to London and onto a range of long-haul destinations worldwide. From its main base at London Heathrow and Gatwick, Virgin Atlantic services destinations as far apart as Las Vegas, Tokyo, Delhi, Boston and Shanghai. Even with Virgin Atlantic's continued growth, the service still remains customer driven with an emphasis on value for money, quality, fun and innovation ensuring flying Virgin Atlantic is always an event. Pioneering many air travel innovations, Virgin Atlantic received a number of 2010 travel trade awards including for the third consecutive year, Travel Weekly's "Best International Airline," Global Traveler's "Best Airline for Premium Economy Class," Business Traveler's "Best Premium Economy Class in the World" and for the first time, "Best Airport Clubs/Lounges." To book travel contact 800-862-8621. For additional information, visit www.virgin-atlantic.com.

SOURCE Virgin Atlantic