The head of UK-based Virgin Atlantic airline, Sir Richard Branson, took advantage of April Fools’ Day to promote the company’s new domestic offshoot service, Little Red, on his blog.
The blog page showed a picture of a glass-bottomed airliner taking to the skies and described it as a ‘world first’ in aircraft innovation.
In addition to his blog, the head of Virgin used twitter to circulate the hoax, saying, ‘This ensures the aisle in the plane’s underbelly is completely see through, allowing passengers to look down directly as the plane makes its journey through the sky. I’m thrilled to announce that Virgin has created another world-first with the introduction of the technology required to produce the world’s first glass-bottomed plane. I am incredibly proud of yet another aviation breakthrough, which has been years in the making. I can’t wait to experience the first flight for myself with my family and other natural born explorers.
‘2012 was a year of celebrating what is brilliant about Great Britain and I’m excited that in 2013 we are continuing this uplifting spirit by developing an experience that will enable Little Red passengers to appreciate the beauty of the British landscape. And with an unrivalled view of Scotland I hope this gives Scottish tourism an even bigger boost.’
The tongue-in-cheek promotion for Little Red came as the Virgin subsidiary made its inaugural flights from Manchester to Heathrow on March 31. The Edinburgh route will commence this Friday, April 5, with the Heathrow route coming into service on April 9.
