Virgin America Hosts First Pitch At San Francisco Giants Home Game - Live From 35,000 Feet Onboard A Commercial Flight

SAN FRANCISCO, July 30, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Virgin America, the only airline headquartered in San Francisco and the Official Airline of the San Francisco Giants, today is inviting baseball fans to help do good and compete for the chance to throw out the first-ever baseball pitch live broadcast from onboard a Virgin America commercial flight at 35,000 feet – to open the San Francisco Giants' home game against the Colorado Rockies on August 11, 2012.  The first pitch will be thrown down the aisle of Virgin America commercial flight 753 as it enters Bay Area air space en route from Seattle Tacoma International Airport (SEA) to San Francisco International Airport (SFO).  The first pitch will be captured live on video by AEG Digital Media and transmitted air-to-ground via the airline's Gogo® in-flight WiFi to AT&T Park, where more than 40,000 San Francisco Giants fans will be watching. 

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120730/AQ48589)

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20090123/VIRGINAMERICALOGO)

Super fans can win a chance to throw the first-ever mile high pitch today by entering into a contest* hosted by Virgin America, the San Francisco Giants and Major League baseball.  All entrants will automatically score a 20 percent off discount** on fall travel on Virgin America – and help give back.  For every entry into the competition, Virgin America will donate five dollars*** to help raise awareness and funds for cancer research via the Stand Up To Cancer initiative.  The lucky super fan will join Giants mascot "Lou Seal" in-flight and get to create their own cheering section in the sky:  by inviting five friends onboard to help him or her "make it over the plate" (which in this case, is Virgin America's Main Cabin Select Row Three). To enter and for official rules, see:  www.sfgiants.com/virginsweeps.  

"As the Bay Area's only hometown airline, we're thrilled to partner with the San Francisco Giants on a fun, first-of-its-kind pitch – that will also benefit the good work that Stand Up To Cancer is doing with cancer researchers across the nation and globe," said Luanne Calvert, Vice President of Marketing at Virgin America.  "As we mark our fifth anniversary we are incredibly thankful for the outpouring of support we have received since our launch from the Bay Area community.  Every year, we celebrate our birthday with our guests, teammates and partners at a home Giants game, and for our five year celebration – we thought it only fitting to take it to the next level with the first ever mile high pitch.  Luckily with WiFi and live TV onboard, none of us will miss a moment of the game either!"

The August 11, 2012, home game is host to "Virgin America Day at AT&T Park," part of the airline's weeklong celebration of its fifth year anniversary of operation.  As a special birthday present to its hometown, Virgin America will also offer all game attendees some "out of the park" offers on the airline that earlier this month captured Travel + Leisure's World's Best Domestic Airline title for the fifth year in a row. All guests onboard flight 753 on August 11^th will receive t-shirts, Virgin America foam fingers and a special buy-one-get-one free offer – in addition to enjoying the game from in-flight, via the Red™ InFlight Entertainment platform's live satellite television channel line-up.  Every guest on Virgin America has complimentary access to a range of live news and sports, including nationally televised Giants baseball games on FOX. 

Virgin America has served as Stand Up To Cancer's (SU2C) Official Domestic Airline partner since 2010, via a multi-year in-kind travel partnership, company fundraising and other joint efforts to drive awareness and funding for lifesaving cancer research. Guests on Virgin America can also join the SU2C movement at 35,000 feet via the Red™ entertainment platform. Virgin America flight guests can visit the Shop "Make a Difference" section on the Red platform, choose a donation, swipe a credit card and join the fight to bring an end to cancer – right from their seatback touch–screen.  100% of the funds go to collaborative cancer research designed to speed groundbreaking treatments to patients.  In addition this summer, guests can screen Spiderman and Spiderman 2 onboard and 100% of the purchase price (along with a matching donation from Virgin America****) will go directly to support cancer research.  The Virgin America–SU2C Mile High promotion kicks off just as SU2C returns to primetime television on September 7, 2012, 8pm/7pm Central on ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC and cable. The star–studded show combines entertainment with an appeal to build continuing public support for cutting-edge cancer research that translates from the laboratory to treatments and technologies that benefit patients.

In March, Virgin America also unveiled the new mood-lit Virgin America Club Level in the ballpark as well as the newest member of its fleet – an Airbus A320 aircraft named "Fly Bye Baby," named and painted in honor of the Giants.  The aircraft sports a beard, as a nod to the facial hair-friendly hometown team.  This season, fans have also been able to take advantage of many new elements at AT&T Park, including an updated Virgin America Loft at McCovey Cove, in-stadium signage, a new "Virgin America Flight Deck" off the Club Level and a Club Level kiosk with special offers.  For photos of the Virgin America Club Level, "Fly Bye Baby" and more, see: www.virginamerica.com/vx/giants-first-pitch-2012.  The Virgin America Flight Deck is located off the concourse, behind Sections 229 & 230, elevated above 2^nd and King Streets.  It includes new seating, a bar, two fire pits and some of the best views available in the ballpark.  In 2011, Virgin America renewed and expanded a multi-year multi-million dollar partnership with the Giants from 2012-2015.  The partnership includes unique stadium branding, experiential promotions during select games, in-flight entertainment integrations and more.  Last year, the airline transported the World Series Trophy (in Virgin America's First Class cabin) across the nation for various events with team leadership.

Virgin America has swept the major travel industry best-in-class awards for the quality of its service, including "Best Domestic Airline" in Travel + Leisure's World's Best Awards in 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012 and "Best Domestic Airline" in Conde Nast Traveler's 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011 Readers' Choice Awards.  Virgin America flies to San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, Washington D.C. (IAD with DCA starting August 14^th), Seattle, Las Vegas, San Diego, Boston, Fort Lauderdale, Orlando, Dallas–Fort Worth, Los Cabos, Cancun, Chicago, Puerto Vallarta, Palm Springs, and Portland.

About Virgin America:  Headquartered in California, Virgin America is a new domestic airline that offers guests attractive fares and a host of innovative features aimed at reinventing air travel.  As the only airline headquartered in the Bay Area, Virgin America's principle base of operations is San Francisco International Airport's (SFO) sleek and sustainable new Terminal Two (T2) – the first LEED® Gold-certified airport terminal in the U.S.  As one of the few expanding U.S. airlines, Virgin America has grown from a few hundred teammates in 2007 to 2,600 today.  Known for beautifully-designed planes with WiFi, power outlets and touch-screen entertainment at every seat, Virgin America has swept the travel awards since its 2007 launch, including being named "Best U.S. Airline" in Conde Nast Traveler's Readers' Choice Awards and Travel + Leisure's World's Best Awards.  The airline's new aircraft offer interactive in-flight entertainment systems and power outlets near every seat.  For more: www.virginamerica.com

About the San Francisco Giants:  The San Francisco Giants of the National League is one of the oldest franchises in Major League Baseball.  Boasting a 130-year history, the team moved to San Francisco from New York in 1958 playing a total of 42 years in Seals Stadium and Candlestick Park before moving to AT&T Park in 2000.  The franchise was named 2010's Sports Organization of the Year by Street & Smith's Sports Business Journal Daily. Since opening its gates, AT&T Park has become internationally-renowned as a premier venue in the world of both sports and entertainment.  On the diamond, more than 37 million spectators have witnessed a number of magical moments and four playoff appearances, including in 2010 when the Giants became the World Series champions for the first time since moving West.  In 2008, the Giants celebrated the team's 50^th year in San Francisco and it was the center of the baseball universe when it hosted the 78^th Major League Baseball All-Star Game on July 10, 2007.  AT&T Park has also played host to some of music's biggest acts, including the Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen and the E-Street Band and Green Day. 

Off the field, the Giants have one of the premier community outreach programs in professional sports, becoming the first team to implement a 100 percent participation program, involving every player, coach and uniformed staff member in at least one community project throughout the season.  Through its community outreach programs, the Giants and the Giants Community Fund work with corporate and non-profit partners to raise awareness, educate and generate interest in a variety of issues important to both their fans and community including education/literacy, violence prevention, health and youth recreation and fitness.  

About Stand Up To Cancer: The Stand Up To Cancer movement (SU2C) – a program of the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF), a 501(c)(3) charitable organization – was established by nine women in the entertainment and news industries who utilize the unique resources of those businesses to engage the public in supporting a new model of cancer research, designed to get new therapies to patients quickly. Members of SU2C's Executive Leadership Council include: Sherry Lansing, chairperson of the Entertainment Industry Foundation's (EIF) Board of Directors and founder of the Sherry Lansing Foundation; EIF President and CEO Lisa Paulsen; Katie Couric; EIF Senior Vice President Kathleen Lobb; Rusty Robertson and Sue Schwartz of the Robertson Schwartz Agency; Pam Williams, President of Laura Ziskin Productions; and nonprofit executive Ellen Ziffren.  The late Laura Ziskin, a legendary film producer who executive produced the 2008 and 2010 SU2C telecasts, was also a member of the Executive Leadership Committee. SU2C's "Dream Team" approach to funding translational cancer research enables scientists from different disciplines at research centers across the country and internationally to collaborate on projects geared toward getting new, less toxic treatments to patients as quickly as possible. Monies also support individual researchers pursuing innovative cancer research projects that are often deemed "too risky" by conventional funding sources. As SU2C's scientific collaborator, the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), led by a prestigious SU2C Scientific Advisory Committee, provides scientific oversight, expert review of the research projects, and grants administration.

*NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. Enter by 11:59 p.m. ET on August 3, 2012. Open to legal residents of California who are 18 years of age or older at the time of entry. Odds of winning depend on the number of eligible entries received. Limit one (1) entry per person/e-mail address/household, regardless of method of entry. Void outside California and where prohibited or restricted by law. See Official Rules, which govern, for complete details.

** This offer ends at 11:59pm CDT on August 15, 2012. This offer is valid only for nonstop or connecting travel; offer is not valid for any multi-city itineraries. One time use promo code is valid for non-refundable Main Cabin tickets only. Travel must occur between August 22, 2012 and November 14, 2012. Blackout dates are August 31, 2012 and September 3, 2012. Promo code may be used only towards newly booked travel and may not be applied to prior bookings. Promo code discount will be deducted off of base fare. Base fares do not include Passenger Facility Charges of up to $9 each way, September 11th Security Fees of up to $5 each way and a Federal Segment Tax of $3.80 per domestic segment. A segment is a takeoff and landing. For service to/from Mexico, base fares do not include the U.S. Immigration User Fee of $7, the U.S. APHIS fee of $5, the U.S. Customs processing fee of $5.50, a U.S. International Arrival/Departure Tax of $16.70 each way and additional taxes/fees of up to $60, including: Mexico International Departure Tax and Mexico Tourism Tax. Promo code may not be redeemed for cash. Promo code may only be used for bookings made on virginamerica.com and is only valid on itineraries of 2 or less. Offer is not transferable and cannot be combined with any other offers. Seats are limited, subject to availability, and may not be available on all flights. If travel is changed or cancelled, promo code discount will become invalid. Changes or cancellations can be made for up to a $100 fee per guest, plus any increase in fare, if applicable. Tickets purchased through Virgin America's reservation call center will cost an additional $20 per guest per itinerary; this amount is non refundable if travel is changed or cancelled. Fares will not be honored retroactively or in exchange for any wholly or partially used ticket. Fares, routes, fees and schedules are subject to change without notice. Virgin America will accept one (1) piece of checked baggage up to 50 pounds for $25 for each ticketed guest traveling within the U.S. and for free of charge for each ticketed guest traveling to/from Mexico. The fee per guest for each additional checked bag up to 50 pounds from the second (2) to the tenth (10) is $25. Additional fees apply to baggage exceeding these weight limitations, and other baggage restrictions may apply.

*** Promotional competition, entrant donation to Stand Up to Cancer.  Total Virgin America contribution not to exceed $40,000.  Virgin America's donation match will consist of both cash and in-kind ticket contribution value.

**** Onboard Giving via Red:  Onboard viewings of Spiderman and Spiderman 2 will be matched by Virgin America via a combination of cash and in-kind tickets up to $10,000.

SOURCE Virgin America

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