Virgin Atlantic has thanked staff with a special message on board its revamped G-VNAP aircraft that has been in storage since 2015.
A special edition livery and Flying Lady have been created on the side of the aircraft, also known as ‘Sleeping Beauty’.
After hours of paintwork, a seven by 152-foot message exclaiming ‘a big Virgin Atlantic thank you’ aimed at its 9,000 Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Holidays staff has been displayed along the fuselage.
It features a limited edition upright version of the ‘Flying Lady’, a design first seen on ‘Birthday Girl’, the airline’s first Boeing 787 Dreamliner which entered the fleet in 2015.
‘Sleeping Beauty’ joins a small list of Virgin Atlantic aircraft that have had a unique livery, including ‘Austin Powered’, ‘Spice One’, ‘Lady Penelope’, ‘Birthday Girl’, ‘Harry Potter’, ‘Queen of the Cobbles’, ‘Golden Girl’ and ‘Where’s Wally’.
Craig Kreeger, chief executive of Virgin Atlantic, said: “The people of Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Holidays have made our business and our brand what it is today. They’re both our magic ingredient and our greatest strength.
“We wanted to take the opportunity to do something special with this aircraft to recognise all the hard work that goes on day in and day out across Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Holidays, so the ‘big Virgin Atlantic thank you’ message is for every one of our 9,000 people. Paired with the special edition of our iconic Flying Lady, we hope we’ve created something our people can feel proud of, which is also eye catching and fun for our customers.”
The newly designed Airbus A340-600 aircraft will be used during peak travel periods and carry up to 308 passengers.