It’s an epic idea: why not have a Pride Flight for LGBTQ people to fly you where you want to go?
Just in time as New York City hosts WorldPride in June 2019 to mark the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall uprising in 1969, Virgin Atlantic is set to stage UK’s first flight staffed entirely by LGBTQ pilots and cabin crew.
As Virgin Atlantic says in their website, this “will be a true celebration of queer culture 38,000 feet above the Atlantic.”
Unfortunately, this offer is only available for those flying from London to the US for the event.
Pride Flight: Truly for the LGBTQ
Virgin Atlantic is teaming up Virgin Holidays, the non-profit tourism organisation NYC and Company, and the Alliance for Downtown New York to run the first Pride flight.
This flight will depart from London Heathrow on 28 June 2019 and arrive at Newark airport in New York.
Aside from the the LGBTQ staff, the 8-hour flight will also feature Tituss Burgess, the Broadway musical actor and one of the stars of the Netflix show Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, as the host.
What’s more, it will have glittering entertainment like an onboard DJ, Drag Queen Bingo, Judy Garland singalong, and inter-seat speed dating.
“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,” he said.
Pride Flight: Stonewall riots commemoration
The flight is set to mark the Stonewall riots on June 28, which had sparked the mainstream LGBT rights movement. The year after the riots, the first gay pride marches took place across the US.
For the 50th anniversary at the WorldPride NYC, there will be more than 50 events like marches, parties, talks, performances, and films. This will culminate with the Pride march on 30 June 2019.
New York City is the first American city to host the World Pride event, and organizers said they expect more than three million visitors to New York for the event.
Mark Anderson, executive vice-president of Virgin Atlantic and global LGBT lead for Virgin Group said: “We’re not the type of company to mark an occasion like this half-heartedly: we’re going to be pulling out all the stops.”
“We take our commitments to diversity and inclusion seriously, but you can rest assured we have a lot of fun along the way,” Anderson said.
Portions of the ticket sale of this flight will be donated to The Attitude Magazine Foundation, which works to advance community Pride initiatives in the UK.
Here’s a video on what to expect:
If you’re ready to fly, check out Virgin Atlantic’s site here.