Virgin Atlantic: Up In The Air (Airline Documentary) | Our Stories

[Music] once upon a time a young hippie called Richard had a dream of starting his own Airline T great coming to work we got a great job right Miami Miami in a bikini and hills and for 30 years virin Atlantic has tried hard to be different he looks over us and keeps us all sane when we're sitting in here in board meetings Glitz and glamour has kept it in the spotlight as it battled the big boys of the skies I'm going to add some turbulance but in recent times finances have been up and down and often millions in the red you speak to Richard about that we lost quite a lot of money um where's it gone we don't work for money we work for love no heads down feedback last year virgin let the cameras in stop filming I normally look a lot worse than this yeah made about an artist Hollywood my gosh they're amazing as the airline tried to reverse its fortunes oh my God the Pilot's so hot overhauling everything from its look I bet they weren't cheat to its people mared to a trolley doing yeah and its PLS probably don't get much change from 300 million does that say quality to you I think it does actually in a time of big changes there not people in my plan will little virgin have to grow gr up to stay up in the air Japan never grew up so why the hell should we grow [Music] up how long have you worked here 16 years 18 years man and boy oh I'm a baby yeah I'm the baby of the team I'm here two years I'm still proud to wear this uniform every morning I put it on I feel I feel I feel like a family Spirit isn't it it is it is like a family Spirit isn't it what's your name again oh get out of it this morning the boys in the warehouse have some important deliveries to make oh yes they're all getting their party box today the airline is throwing a big party to celebrate its 30th birthday is Richard going to pop out never know you know although Richard Branson is still the face of the airline he's not actually run the company dayto day in over a decade do people phone up asking to speak to Richard yes yeah they think he's just sitting here waiting for their calls bless them they think he's in the cover but for the first time in years the founding father is briefly coming home to be among his most devoted followers it's like a celebrity coming you know he flocks to the base everyone to see him everyone meet him have you met him before never no I've only been here three years so I've never even seen him good [Music] morning happy birthday [Music] [Applause] Richard here who's been here the longest apart from myself come on come on I have a kiss you've got 25 here years here 27 come on anybody beat 27 30 come on come forward well done thank you um so here's the next 30 [Applause] Years despite the cheers time have been tough recently cheers last year virgin announced losses of 51 million for 2013 we lost quite a lot of money um where's it gone um but we hope to get it back fortunately I've been in the airline business long enough to know that um you have tough years and you have good years do you think VL be around for another 30 years of course as long as we keep Reinventing ourselves keep ahead of the crowd there dinner land go good afternoon with pressure building plans are underway to get things back on track after a break of 2 years they're investing in a new batch of cabin Crew The Sassy Scarlet clad face of the airline hi guys hello you all right good we're going to be taking you through to the assessment part of the building so there we go we keep up can't we did you travel far then with your suitc where you come from oh lovely and the modest 125,000 starting salary doesn't seem to have put people off onal of ourselves first of all congratulations on getting this far well done absolutely we did open the adver for roughly 48 hours and we had over 2,000 people um applying for the position of cabin crew okay so really well done after that wonderful introduction what we're going to do is turn the table over to you guys now I am a board director for a disability arts project at the moment I work for Claren skin care company I've been in a lot of Panton in my local theater I'm also a law student with the open University I was lucky enough to turn on the Christmas lights in Rochester for the Dickens festival with Vanilla Ice fantastic how long did it take you to do your hair this morning it took quite a while I think it took about 40 minutes but at the end of the day you only get one chance to make a first impression we're going to be stuck in a desert island today and you only have five of the items listed below the golden question what are we looking for um well I guess it's that natural enthusiasm that natural warmth and friendliness I've always said you're either naturally Virgin Atlantic cabin crew member or maybe it's not for you say if we get bored we can skip with the Rope while we're eating chocol 58-year-old Grandma Katrine is hoping to swap a career in the Airlines ticket office for a new life in the skies it's what I've been wanting to do for 25 30 years and I feel the time is right that's why I haven't gone for it before I had young children so I couldn't give 110% to the roll at the time it's time for me now touch with hello Charlotte should yourself a drink good good good come on what seems to be the problem today oh hi yeah my um Entertainment System doesn't seem to work it's just a completely blank screen I'm not very happy about it to be honest okay let's just have a little look 25-year-old Charlotte has worked for other airlines but this would be her dream job this actually be my third time of applying for Virgin um and it's the second time that I've got to this stage I really want it now thank you gilf with over 2,000 applicants and just 158 jobs it's a nervous two-day wait for Charlotte and the other candidates want to be in that red unti so badly the red virgin family isn't just about the people it's also about the plains Tinker Bell Queen of the skies and all the other girls on the tarmac are part of a tiny Fleet of just 38 aircraft rival ba has nearly 300 [Music] gas guzzlers like Molly are also starting to show their age this design is what 1980s 20 years over 25 years old so the computing power in your smartphone you can buy nowadays is is easily a match for this if you can keep your aircraft age young and I mean you can always stay in the game in a bid to keep up with a competition the airlin are investing millions in one of these the new 787 dream liner is being built by Boeing in the states the first of 17 currently on order this snazzy fuel saver will eventually replace nearly half the airline's Fleet and should start saving them a fortune the airlines design manager Nick lucardi is on an unusual shopping trip to the Boe Factory near Seattle thank you we are going to choose the the interior for the uh 787 you been before then I've been here about three times before so yeah I'm just getting my bearings again cuz it it's been about a year and a half since I was here last when you buy a new Dreamliner it's just a shell what you put in it is up to you from kitchens to lighting and carpets this One-Stop shop is a bit like a mega Buck Ikea for pring up planes I not sure we're going to get very many special offers off Boeing I don't think they offer them they don't do two for ones that's for sure I it's a costy business isn't it kicking out of play absolutely yeah yeah it's um it's it's mindboggling how expensive it can be what's your budget for kitting out the interior um I that I'm not the right person to ask for that I just spend the money Nick's after 198 economy seats you can choose any seat here you went for this so this is a good seat so it articulates in the back so you get a lot of recline in the back but also the seat pan articulates also so it gives you a kind of cradle in motion do you feel cradled now I do yeah how much would one of these upper seats cost it can be anything from 70,000 up to 100,000 for one seat yes you imagine that you have 30 40 of these in a cabin that's a lot of money but the airline isn't taking the upper class seats from the catalog Nick and his team are designing their own why are you going for something different we always do we that's the way that that is the Virgin brand we always want to put our mark on something but it be much cheaper if you didn't have to do that but then we wouldn't be Virgin Atlantic and uh it's not always about money hello but the one thing Nick is getting off the shelf is the toilets what are you looking for I'm just looking at the level of detail within the toilet the button it illuminates to tell you how hot the water's get in did you ever think when you were growing up that you'd be uh having to look at detail in toilets for something like this no no no I didn't I never thought it was going to be uh I never thought it was going to be like this it might look like just a l but this lav cost the same as a Lamborghini at 200 Grand a pop it needs to shine this one has mood lighting mood lighting yeah there's mood lighting in thep toilet yeah so is that important it is these have got they've got a soft closed lid on them which you find a lot these days and high class toilets what's your favorite toilet here the biggest toilet that's that's my favorite because it means that you have the you have the most amount of space is getting the right toilet really going to make a big difference to someone buying a ticket it it is part of the experience with their very first Dreamliner on its way it's nearly time for for Virgin to join the big boys these are all the different customers for the 787 so uh where's yours right in the middle right there it's quite exciting to think that this aircraft can be flying soon how much does one plane cost um You probably don't get much change from 300 million dollars that [Music] is when I asked you about the negative aspects to the role of cabin cre she said insect bites she couldn't particularly articulate why the role of cabin crew in particular back in the recruitment center it's decision time Behavior then I'd say it's more like to be a no yeah I'm saying that definitely the assessors have been whittling down thousands of cabin crew hopefuls so yeah definitely love to give her the job fabulous applicants learn of their fate in an [Music] email yeah this one I don't want to read it we are pleased to advise you that we would like to offer you the position of cabin crew with us at Virgin Atlantic [Laughter] [Music] Airways oh my God as far we like to offer you the position of C Co Landing oh my god I've done it oh God I can't believe it I'm so happy Mom I'm actually crying I didn't think I was going to cry I'm such a baby oh my God you're married to a trolley doing yeah just nonstop JY I've been in and out of the doctors having all my vaccinations done oh of course yes cuz you with the start of training just a week away new recruit Charlotte is feeling the pressure I think it's really important that I make the right impression when I start start as you mean to go on you're worry that you're not going to fit in and everyone's going to look at you like oh well she's she's not virgin the girls all Look So Glamorous but when you get to the nitty-gritty of it it's really not glamorous you can end up with sick down you tea and coffee sort of underneath your nails and you know I think as long as you look glamorous and you try and stay glamorous people think it is gamous right that should be issued by Saudi Airlines that change at Virgin Atlantic's ticket office workmates are still getting their heads around katrine's change in career I think we were all quite shocked we didn't actually think she' Get It If we're honest I thought she was too old that's it If we're honest yeah you can see it's all young girls and they all have that certain look she's knocking on 60 you don't mind me saying you look mildly terrified yeah I I I am just a tad fortune favors the Braves so I'm going to give it a go my friend does Botox I could get in for [Music] that did any of you have have Ambitions to be cabin crew no not at all but I do MBM I mean we see quite a lot of walking around there and they come here they work hard for five or 6 weeks what ever it is the training and then the world's are oyster is it for those in less glamorous jobs there are still perks how many free flights do you get free plates Nows it's a t yeah yeah as many as you can get on some many as you can get on yeah this one of the best parts of the job the airline staff can fly to any of its destinations for a massive discount and if there's room they even get to sit in upper class last week I was sitting there and my three buddies were sitting at this side we had a whole section to ourselves it was amazing I'm no wonder they all mates that's good this is going to New York It's a poster of our new plane the Dreamliner that's the Dreamliner that's it is everyone aware of the new plane coming in yeah we can't wait for it yeah it's going to be really good why uh well I think it's very fuel efficient so it's going to help us financially as well I think there's a new seat in it as well and seats and stuff yeah important from a financial point of view it is especially for we didn't have great results yeah you know this year but hopefully next year that'll all change with expectations Sky High for the new Dreamliner in South Wales the plane's upper class seats are waiting to be signed off by designer Nick for the last 6 months 31 seats have been meticulously handcrafted to Nick's exacting standards looks great really good it was a good match as well with the with the leather isn't it seems to work really well all of the seats that you see here are the seats that will be on our aircraft in in October these are going to be boxed up and then sent to Seattle and then they when they arrive they'll be installed hence why we're all walking around with tape on our fingers and also on our belt buckles stop us from scratching any of the uh in the seats cuz it's no good if we go around inspecting and damaging them at the same time that's it's kind of productive seems to be not horizontal with each seat costing close to £130,000 Nick wants to make sure they are built to [Music] last it's right on that it's going to be right on that corner I wouldn't mind so much if the material wasn't so abrasive because of its threedimensional nature but within 6 months these are just going to be completely like balled was nice well not going to want to see that walking down the camping night probably strip this one down you what adjust we've got while you got your hand on it as well I've noticed something else you know the orientation of the fabric is the yes we've Pi that incorrect it is that's right that's right yeah that's wrong yeah the material is far too hard there needs to be a rubber buang supposed to nylon because it's just going to damage at the minute they're crawling all over it taking panels off looking inside moving them up and down every time they stick a DOT on a seat it's something that we've got to fix they know what they want uh it's up to us to deliver it are you happy Nick with this cheap glossy finish on here cheap glossy finish cheap glossy finish which you chose you mean which you chose no I prefer that to what what was done before the the high gloss made the paint look the wrong color Nick's trying to reflect the airline's Flare from stitching detail right down to a flashy paint finish this is um something we call gisha white but it has a mic in it which is like a sparkle can you see the sparkle so it's a bit like glitter but it's not too Christmasy more glamorous as a passenger will pick up on it is a a kind of an experience and it all kind of it's like one big massive soup of experience I guess a virgin experience the white itself it's got a hint of red in it even the whites have a touch a virgin red in them absolutely yeah that's yeah absolutely I didn't think about it like that but that's a good point maybe subliminally I kind of put that in I don't know [Music] but Hello nice to meet you welcome to vir it's induction week for the airlines latest batch of cabin crew recruits ladies and gentlemen welcome to your new careers welcome to Virgin Atlantic you guys are sitting here are the lucky ones to represent Virgin Atlantic in the skies and you're part of the family now but the new bees aren't home dry just yet their job at the airline is dependent on passing a tough 5 and 1/2 week training course it's very glamorous in there isn't it very glamorous how are you feeling very unglamorous against all the Glamorous dolles you see that girls over there I might as well be myself the Nana just told him I said by the way I'm the flying Nana go oh I like that flying Nana so that's my name um [Music] hello my name is Matt whip funny name I know it's very weird um and I've been with Virgin since 97 so I joined when I was five today is going to give you the grounding of your customer service training we really want to give you an insight into what we kind of expect of you virgin um because for the next five weeks we need to virginy you being cabin crew is far more than just chicken or beef far far more um manuals are this thick there's a lot that they have to learn and they underestimate the amount of work they are going to have to put in for 5 and a half weeks you're hours okay and if you can do that in 6 weeks time you'll go shopping in New York you'll go sunbe in Barbados you'll ride across the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco blah blah blah are you quite a tough Taskmaster a that's a mean question yeah hi morning everyone from day one the new recruits have to follow the airline's strict styling rules cabin crew are expected to look as good as the adverts whenever they're on duty hi morning everyone my name's Helen um I'm all about the hair so and no cabin crew training would be complete without the ultimate hair accessory you may wear a donut if you wish I can see that lots of you are sporting them already please just don't come to work looking like a toad store I had to buy a bigger donut because mine didn't quite make it it wasn't big enough there's a lot of hairspray in that as well so don't light a lighter in front of you I might go up in Flames this isn't a fashion show it doesn't matter if it's too small or too big so long as you fit inside it but alongside the glitz Comes The graft the rookies have to master a range of life-saving skills and drills 58 seconds [Music] well I'm trying to find where my first ACH it is Jenny's bleeded to death at the moment I could probably spray some of you on the back wall oh yeah W now comes the challenge of climbing into the Roth everybody's got the image of virgin they know what is expected of Virgin and that's great because that is our brand and that is our image but they have got to be professionals what they do on that aircraft our customers don't just want someone to actually serve them and smile and Flash the teeth and look amazing they want someone that's going to keep them safe as well you might have injured passengers deceased it's going to be very difficult to tell if somebody's dead the only way to S us to tell if somebody's dead is if their head is there and their body's there cabin crew spend intense today's training on Miss rigorous virgin's replica plane to simulate worst case scenarios I love this bit I really really do heads down feedback because I get to see them in the event that something goes wrong so yeah [Music] open the steps have people to their feet open up the exit you you didn't hold on to the ass T did you not see it I'm sweating I just my lipsticks will come off it's all over my tea so yeah it's not glamorous but emergency Landings rarely are no feeling the pressure at the rear of the sinking aircraft is 58-year-old Katrine are you f go open theft is s step back wa KR if Katrina and the others can get through the rest of the training course they'll be flying off the following day and be responsible for the safety of up to 450 passengers we haven't told you to evacuate need is everyone okay if I don't think I could sit on a jump seat next to them and they could actually get me out in an emergency then we won't sign them off we have to be a little bit tough from that point of view but hopefully we do it with a little sof virgin side who's actually going like that now bless you we're not doing it to upset you or or anything like that but we want to make this as realistic as possible I was like a rabbit Lost in headlights there listen up this is the juicy carrot isn't it Sam it's nearing the end of cabin crew training if the recruits pass they'll fly off the very next day they're about to find out where ninth is your wings isn't it so you have your wings then you'll be going straight to bed no late nights all right and then on Tuesday the 10th of June your first [Applause] flight Ren your first flight is [Applause] Divo going with you krine Kirsten you are going to New [Music] York sh your first flight it's a nice little three night [Applause] Cancun why are they so excited if you've never been to kind of places like La Vegas those kinds of things um it's anyone's dream especially you know young girls in their mid 20s uh to get out there in the glamour we are exhausted physically and mentally and I think it's just been really nice to get that little bit of a boost it just makes it all really real now and it makes us work even harder and hard we've work so hard over the last couple of days I'm so excited [Music] the new recruits are not the only ones being put through their [Music] Paces from Virgin Streamliner team Andy Haynes is overseeing final safety tests on the upper class [Music] seat this is the uh structural test for um something called crashworthiness it's a really severe test so it simulates about 16g what sort of impact is that htz 16g is survivable Crash such that the passengers can can get off quite [Music] safely from cattle to Club class commercial airline seats must pass this critical test before they are deemed fit to fly you have to load the seat up as though it's loaded up when um real people are in and obviously it's not a great idea to put real people in this test I'm noticing your shoes they're always like that I don't know why make sure his laces are done up they're not too dissimilar to your own no they're not that's uh engineer [Laughter] shoes our seat has airbags which is um we think really important for our upper class passengers are only upper class get airbags uh on some aircraft premium economy get them as well there's 31 of these overall 4 million worth of seats and that doesn't include the infl entertainment equipment which uh comes to another couple of million pounds worth it's not cheap is it not cheap no it's not a cheap business test almost last checks I think they're checking the cameras the lights who decides whether it passes or fails normally I think it's quite obvious a failure can be quite um quite catastrophic the lights are going to come on uh in a in a sec so get if you want to step back this upper class seat has been 2 years in the making fail today's test and the delivery of the Dreamliner gets delayed [Music] [Music] any good I don't know happy joh yeah looks good one small piece came off but uh it all looks good happy happy looks good looks really good he doesn't look too good though does he days he's um he's had a bad [Music] experience [Music] it's like Christmas the recruits have finally getting their Ms on those famous red [Music] uniforms you are virgin now you are embodying the brand you are just embracing it and it feels amazing move yeah I love it I love it over over the past 5 weeks they've grappled with seven simulated plane crashes 25 grueling exams and one swimming pool [Music] dunking they may look the part but now comes the final test okay so your final exam all right off you go guys good luck to keep an eye on them got to keep an eye on them make sure they're not cheating big one last big one end of their 6 weeks so yeah really big day for them I'm going to have to go back in I've got to go back in 42 tricky technical questions answer 37 correctly and their new life as cabin crew [Music] Begins the result is revealed instantly so there's no hanging around and so far it's all looking good for the group I pass that's all about is me oh my go so excited one of the last out is Katrine who's not SAT exams for over 40 [Music] years so You' got a new career yeah I have a new career friends and family have gathered for the wings graduation ceremony hello hello welcome to Virgin Atlantic um for this Wings ceremony of group 752 this is my wings photo from 1997 oh Lord how old were you there if you don't mind me ask 24 about 24 I know I only look 12 um so yeah I was 24 years old I was group 186 and this group's obviously 752 so we've had all those groups in the middle you look incredibly happy I was incredibly happy I applied to a couple of Airlines um and I got virgin and I was absolutely chuffed a bit can I have a really huge round of applause please cuz worked hard to get to this point group 752 [Music] please for the airline's newest cabin crew the life of L Hall starts in the morning I'm all ready I just need to try and sleep tonight which I think is going to be the [Music] battle says proud to me that's what it means to [Music] me I left it a bit late but I got there 22 hours since graduating katrine's checking in for her first flight AS fully fledged cabin crew what's your name Katrine are you new then yeah I got my wings yesterday how you feeling Katrina really nervous really nervous really excited though today she's off on a 7-hour flight to Dubai over at Gatwick Charlotte is heading off on a 3-day round trip to Mexico welcoming her on board is veteran of 20 years Captain Tim Butler Charlotte yes I'm Tim Tim nice to meet congratulations on getting through the call you're going to a fantastic destination I know I'm so lucky on way yeah all the places is probably my know Lucky hi everyone as the C crew and now on board L should we need to evacuate you remember your first flight gosh yes um 2 and 1/2 years ago yeah that's how long I've been here I went to orando 9 years ago scary that's what everyone knows how they're feeling open bottle Jackie on the clo bottle open you know where all the seats are let me make note of them let me make note of them left yeah good good point eight and N that side 8 n I'm going to make a mental not back fortunately fellow rookie Ren is on hand to help and soon the 170 passengers are seated and off to the Middle East but as Charlotte's packed plane taxis to the runway there's a hitch one of the engines won't start they're just a small engineering problem at the moment so we're not quite sure what's going on so I think we were just going back to stand while a solution is sought outside the temperature inside the cabin starts to creep up feels like we're in Mexico already basically you actually do look very hot oh it's just my luck just another day at the [Music] office have you done any exterior checks yet uh to make sure the wings are bolted on correctly that's a good yeah I did that a few nights ago near Seattle designer Nick is heading to the Boe Factory with Paul Riley virgin's man in the states security passes at the ready it's Nick's first glimpse of the new plane and the arrival of his precious Posh seats there's the aircraft in the hanger it's looking good isn't it thing of beauty and all the seats lots of the seats are here pretty much yeah we've uh 25 upper class seats I've seen and hundreds and hundreds of of economy seats here the Boeing factory is one of the biggest buildings on the planet the size of 75 football pitches it's even been known to generate its own weather system complete with clouds and rain this is the uh the second production line we have our aircraft that is amazing the paint looks really good being here a few times and seen everybody else's craft rolling off but at last you know working for Virgin for 10 years and now get to see one of these finally roll off the production L she's quite big isn't she are your seats here yet Nick I can see a few over here I've just caught them out the corner of my eye so uh you want to have a look at one yes please just take a look covers are on they have traveled well we've really brought it up to the the new brand colors that we've got in the cabin so the new espresso leather that you find in the upper class what color have you called this this is espresso espresso espresso leather yeah not brown no espresso I thought it' be brown because it's that wouldn't be virgin we always have to give our colors a name and that that it conveys an emotion also you have black cherry black cherry on the back and also the arms purple no black cherry [Music] what what are you going to do now well I'm going to take a picture of to show to my son because he's absolutely obsessed with aircraft he's obsessed with anything that's massive how old's your son he's just over two he has lots of plain books so I can't really ever forget about work unfortunately because even when I go home to read him a book or read him a bed night story he wants me to talk about planes the airline wants its first 787 done and dusted and flying passengers in 3 months time so in the last few days we've had uh but at the moment it looks like they've got their work cut out looking good yeah it looks very good really good it's working very well what do you mean working well it's white but you can actually see the pattern as well within it so as you look across it the pattern becomes more apparent so different angles it actually jumps out of you looks good really good quite a lot of work to do though things just need to be clicked into position probably that's the that's where it is now in what will be the upper class section the boys from Boeing are slotting the first mega Buck seat into place it's nice to see you guys putting this in this is really nice shiny you're being very gentle with it as well probably got Nick Jagger written all over it you know with another 30 Posh seats still to go in it's finally time for Nick to inspect his Swanky toilet which one did you go for in the end well basically we've gone for a dark Bounty unit it tells you the heat which I'm really pleased with does that does that say quality to you I think it does actually very nice we're going to get 10 15 years out of use out of that toilet I know it's a toilet but it's it's now our [Music] toilet gate 33 at Gatwick and Jersey girl is still on the tarmac I really do like to apologize for this delay not a very pleasant being go through especially in the 13-year-old 747 may eventually be replaced by a Dreamliner let me tell you what's going on finally the engineers have come up with a plan big spanner in they're going to open the start valve air will rush into the engine airplane engine will rotate and then it will start good news we are getting that fuel on board now on thee with the spanner hitting the spot it's Chucks away to Cancun 2 hours late 36,000 ft up on the Dubai flight katrine's off to a shaky start has anyone ordered a low flat I do feel like a little like a spare part and I'm trying to make myself useful but I might be hindering and if things weren't hard enough turbulent is one thing none of the new recruits can train for gentlemen the captain has found itary to illuminate and SE as we are experien turbulent guys all right it's hard work it's really hard work I wait in the galley wait in the galley with a passenger feeling queasy Katrina's next challenge is to face up to her fears what will you do if somebody I have to deal with it that's my fear I absolutely am petrified of what sick don't even like to say it in the word going to have to come down here and lie on the floor okay he's going to have to come down here and lie on the floor's WR can we just stop filming just a little lemonade yeah I'll bring it back down you on route to Cancun it's lunchtime and there's no rest for the crew he'll end up walking 7 miles on a 10-hour trip like this literally I just I've just been up down up down up down up down thank you it is like being on stage because you just can't stop until you kind of go behind the scenes and you go just if you look at the map on there I think we're like starting to come across like America so can you leave there like we come that far already it's crazy all drwing tea and coffee right okay you got to go all right you okay back on katrine's flight the poly passenger is perking up thanks to lungfuls of oxygen and a big dose of cabin crew TLC you still feel like the de girl yeah totally their first trips might be done in Dusty but this is just the start for Charlotte and Katrine over the next year they'll fly over 450,000 mil the equivalent of jetting to the moon and back and a massive well done to our two new guys Ren and Katrine you did absolutely brilliantly yeah we've landed into Mexico just really exciting for now it's time to enjoy the perks of the job the overnight stay at their luxury destinations all on expenses look at that 6 weeks of Blood Sweat and Tears makes it all [Music] [Applause] worthwhile I mean look of course it's worth it I was stood in a department store like a year ago so to be stood here now is amazing this this be working in in Crawley what do you think [Music] absolutely Shor ditch East London when it comes to being Uber cool there's only one place to hang out what are you doing in a toilet have you been to a toilet party before today the Airline is launching a brand new uniform and everyone's getting dressed [Music] up yeah that's nice love that yeah it's like it's sort of like a better size as well I've never said no to a party yet and I don't think I'm going to start now nice what's Dapper you got your moves worked out for the dance I've got my shoes um you're the first person to walk out along with Amy the company may have struggled with debt but there's not much sign of cost cutting as part of a revamp queen of punk viven Westward has redesigned the famous red uniforms like you just come up a very long flight I normally look a lot worse than this do you think other airlines would go to such efforts to launch their uniform we want people's heads to turn and say I want to fly with [Music] them out thank you look at your lovely new uniforms are abely amazing with the Celebrity Fashion Easters out in full force the airline wants the world to know they mean [Applause] [Music] business new uniforms new uniform yeah 26 pallets yesterday 14 today open the doors up with the new look about to be rolled out at the airlines HQ and C 7 and 1 half thousand uniforms await their new wearers are you excited about the new uniform always always I want polo shirts out of these but it never get them I've been asking for them for 19 years they just ain't going to happen I've seen the men's suits and they're very nice and if there's any left over extra large I might just slip in one and do you know much about who's designed it Vivian westw we've had some good people involved in in virgin you know some top names as you imagine with Richard Branson all his mates AR they you know he's not going to go at Prime Ary that ain't going to happen is it there's no sign of budget labels at the airlines upper class Wing at Heathrow here they'll do anything to keep their most high-paying customers happy Courtney host 35 I have a car for you kilo Delta Zulu on the vs7 punters a chauffeur driven to their own check-in before breezing through private security to a luxury Hideway we've got a benty coming in now you look like you're running a very glamorous taxi rank do I I've never worked in the taxi rank so thanks for that you e yes you met before no no I've seen her before here but I haven't actually met her I love my job everything about my job but meeting the uniques is a great part of it obviously yeah why are they called uniques not VIPs I think a lot of companies probably use the VIP terminology so it's something different for us and they are our unique passengers effortless travel costs up to 10 times more than the cheap seats and makes up nearly a third of virgin's income everything's already checked in for them the porters take their bag for us and then they just go straight through our private secur channel to the clubhouse they don't have to do anything nothing at [Music] all once checked in the private world of upper class continues in the Millionaire's [Music] playroom I'm going to take you and show you something really unique I think it's the only Airline you'll find with one of these we hope there's no naughty business going on in this very decadent and very virgin costing an incredible1 million the lounge aims to provide punters the ultimate pampering Paradise before boarding so this is the garden it's really really a nice area for people to come up I would say fresh air but you've got all the petrol how long before I can have that table frequent flyers get a particularly personalized service we have a department that looks after top 50 flyers and they record all information of dislikes preferences we've had a famous singer have nobody's to look her in the eye did you serve her no no no no we served through her personal assistance she didn't want any interconnection with any of our staff I think they feel that this is what I expect for my money and this is what I expect from [Music] Virgin self-made business businessman Stan is one of the airline's Rich regulars he's virtually a commuter traveling to the states every 2 weeks Sam likes his coffee milk and sugar very hot tea very hot he likes a very weak fox fiz in a tumbled glass he doesn't like the champagne flu on board he likes itting here he likes to have a certain table and also a treatment normally a manicure or a massage there you are Stan would you like a sausage sandwich to go with that I'll have some granola and some Honey granola and honey thanks M I haven't always flown upper class what happens is start off an economy then what they do is they they'll upgrade you because you fly a lot they'll upgrade you at premium and you think this is great premium I'm I'm Happ you like this is great then they go let's upgrade you Mr Hodges to upper class then you think why did you do this because once you've got on a plane and turn left that's it you just always want to get on a plane and turn left just to let you know that we have booked to a spa appointment at 10:30 for a manicure that is that what you want or thr a massage no no love it love it okay I'm get ends at the massages we do not offer that that would put you in [Music] profit the airline hopes that the real source of future profit lies in this hanger near Seattle [Music] an eyew watering 5 billion is being spent on 17 new planes the new fuel efficient Dreamliner from Boeing looks really good y looks like a real plane it does it certainly does yeah it just need some engines replacing nearly half its aging Fleet the airline's first Dreamliner needs to be in service in just 3 months design manager Nick lardi is at the Boeing factory to keep things on track it's good y really good do you want your picture of you with the aircraft in the background I'm going to show this back of base three two one smile back in the control room in Crawley it's Dave and Haley's responsibility to get the Dreamliner delivered on time it's a big job what do you think when you see the photos um by God it's close we got a lot of work still today nothing's been happening nothing's been happening then all all of a sudden it's like oh there's a whole play in there I'm really just focusing on getting everything ready um so that when the aircraft as soon as it lands we've got just four weeks to get it there get it fixed then flying out with passengers on it and there's there's a lot to do in that time you know and any delays cost cost the company a huge amount seven long years since it was first ordered Haley is trying to make sure every base is covered before the dream Dreamliner finally comes home principally this is what I see this is the plan in its summary does that represent what's going on in your brain as we speak yeah which is probably quite scary to most people but what this plan represents is that last lap as it were for all the work to be finalized on this red line here what does the red line mean delivery my big thing is seeing it in he row and actually being able to go on on it in he thr hanger I think that's the day when I go okay it's all right they may cost Millions but the airline is hoping that the lighter more fuel efficient Dreamliner will be the lifeline for its flagging fortunes we need to fly it harder longer and faster than all the other aircraft on our Fleet just fuel costs alone it's 40% of our entire outgoings um which was over a billion last last year just on fuel are you guys all aware that there's a lot resting on your shoulders to get this aircraft up and and hopefully making virgin profitable I try not to think about [Music] it as part of the company's makeover it's just taken delivery of its new Vivan Westwood designed uniforms come visit us on the hottest day of the year I've been standing underneath the bents doing a mar in my RO it's Annie's job to help fit every member of staff from size six to size 30 so we've got one belt in there it starts here female long jackets long skirts and we go to regulars then we go to men's coats men's waist coats short jackets trousers how many people have you got a kit out again thousands I'm going I think the skirt is too big woo I really like this new uniform very excited to wear I do like for Christmas here we have all the ground tie shoes Vivian Westwood classic style with the heel and we have Pilot's caps this is the scrambled egg what are they really they're oat leaves not scramble day no then the straps go behind you the bespoke new uniform is the company's first in 15 years right don't like looks like I should be in a workhouse in like 184 is that right is there a real sense of excitement in the air oh yeah they all got excited a few years ago of course when we were going to do the uniform but then we had the recession well I guess you can afford it now I'm not at Liberty to say that you speak to Richard about I've got to put this stop back [Music] I met with Gemma from design yesterday she started putting all this together for the colorful Airline it's not enough to just have a new uniform right so you need one that's a full fontal of the in house styling Guru rebi is creating a snazzy staff manual called Runway detailing the dos and don'ts of donning the new threads yeah we want to be more in style Vogue kind of that more of a a higher glossy magazine reuby would you say that you were like the Anna winter of of magazine I should get a new Bob put here alongside reeby setting the standards for makeup from lashes to lips is Queen of Cosmetics MIM we've got a new uniform we want a new look we want to give it a whole new Fresh Start so it's quite exciting is that your mug that is my mug can you hold it up for me please is that your fell that isn't my fell and he's looking oh to bad it's looking well I just have another one but it was stolen so I now have to lock it in my drawer and then there's Helen the airline's very own head of hair I've worked for vir for 20 years have you yeah have you ever styled Richard Branson's hair certainly have yeah have you yeah what sort of haircut did Rich well rich is very kind of relaxed isn't he he's got naturally curly hair so he just has long layers he's kind of wash and go he's living neck and now he's quite dude I guess reeby wants Airline staff to do the modeling for the magazine so in a few days hundreds of catwalk hopefuls will be flocking to the Crawley HQ to audition got some Engineers got ground staff we've got Pilots female Pilots male Pilots got some people uh especially from the US that are traveling over from India that are traveling over so and they have to do it in their own time and at their own cost as well why are they doing it because they want to be a part of this it's going to be quite an iconic magazine to be in we've got the ramp Transit has that started now so I can then highlight that on the plan that that's working the B1 B2 ratio it's not well not completely a material when you buy a new plane talking technical is a daily event I'm going to put together the cour team Eis Matrix okay thanks guys do you realize that you're talking Rd when you go down the pub do people understand what you're talking about um generally not no when they ask me what I do for a living um and I say I work for V Atlantic and usually the Go Crew are go no I'm a program Planner on a 787 delivery project and that usually kills the conversation what's your favorite acronym can you read one up o um AP GSS that's a pretty good one um which is your electrical power generation and start system uh [Music] [Music] no idea fuel oil heat exchanger oh I should have known that one so obvious damn it do you use them at home uh I try not to with the Dreamliner delivery date looming the airline's top secret cabin designs are taking shape why is it no entry all access only this is our secret squirrel area so it's it's very important that we keep everything under wraps because this is where all magic [Music] happens Nick's plywood plane replica holds the key to dazzling the passengers when they first step on [Music] board is this is like a bar yes yeah yeah yeah the the mood lighting that you see at the minute is one of our settings that we've got on board the aircraft could you show us some of the colors absolutely yeah just so I'll show you that we've got about four settings at the moment that's programmed into this but we will be getting more okay what's your favorite one uh my favorite one is work rest and play Let's see it do this mean it's sort of lilac yes something like this will be used when passengers bored it conveys an air of Cal what color does me service look like you look it's more of an amber color here we go the mood lighting for the new fleet has taken 3 years to plan and a budget bigger than the Blackpool illuminations people are flying in a plastic tube so we have to do all we can to be able to change the environment make people step away from the feeling that they're they're confined in this in this small space what's the most expensive bit um I guess it would have to be the bar the bar unit this is a mockup of the bar but this is the design of the bar you're looking to try and create movement in the bar and a bit more add a bit more Pizzazz why do you need the pizzazz people are just of flying but the piz has and the Delight is the Virgin thing that's what makes us different what's the gold bin thing this is just another little Delight somebody will look at that and like you've already asked me why have you done the gold w why not the the actual stools themselves they will illuminate from below so we'll have mood lighting in the stools would this be would this be £10,000 yeah I'm sure it would be in that in that region for one bar stool for one bar stool yeah and the bar would that be £10,000 a more 50,000 to put a price on it it's a lot of money 5 million for a bar no not 5 million for a bar no a million I can't remember to it's important to you though right it is but at the end of the day the important thing as well is is giving our passengers the best experience and sometimes you know you have to spend the money to do that and if it wasn't for that then we would just be another [Music] airline as anyone brief you on what's going to happen no no right I'm Rebecca so I look after on The Styling team and everything this far so you'll see it's casting day hundreds of the airline staff have turned up hoping to be chosen to model the Vivien Westwood uniform in the runway manual just 30 places are up for grabs it's a bit like X Factor kind of is a bit isn't it hold that for me look beautiful lovely and then just eyes to me do you know what they're looking for no no that's it I don't know at all they want people who are real people who represent the company real people I think is that you I think [Laughter] so [Music] lovely nice my 12-year-old is like Dad you've got to do it so it's the coolest I've been in in her eyes do you know what I'm doing it for the dad many have traveled thousands of miles just on the slim chance of being so ected yeah we're from San Francisco yeah so we just came here just for this we're excited we love taking pictures we have a good thing we're going to get it pull it around that's nice loveely hair have travel 6,000 M from India to be part of this event beautiful then I want to see myself R page actually you look great look at you you're in the uniform I am in uniform I'm I know I'm looking pretty that's why they're clicking the pictures nonstop hey do you think that's a sign yeah yes I do head down have you got makeup on today I wear um Tinted Moisturizer so it just to moisturize my skin that's all I use looks good Josh you've done this before it's such a big year for Virgin Atlantic and I personally want to be a part of it so about trying my look it's the 30th birthday this year and I started in the 21st year so it's a it's definitely a milestone anything for do you get programmed when you start a vir everyone's so into it is it's just the people we'll say on it's a virgin flare you even got it or you haven't have you got it yes you must have hands in your pocket to nail the new look re's even brought in a creative director and a team of top fashion photographers nice teeth nice teeth ni body great teeth great smile and how much does it cost to launch Runway magazine um I don't really know is it thousands it is Thousands yeah it is thousands and we're hoping to get that back if we get more people on our aircraft because of this then that's what I'm looking for it's a very competitive market you know we can't always afford we're a very small Airline we can't necessarily compete with the bigger Airlines like carries in the Middle East so what is our differentiator that's our people and that's our brand so we need to really protect it with the number is totting up nicely casting for next week's photo shoot is almost done but there's always time to squeeze in one more Brazilian Rodrigo has been cabin crew at the airline for 4 years I think that they're looking for some one uh fun happy uh natural smile effortless thank you thank you very much oh lovely to great got hair is perfect can I ask you a personal question sure I can have you had work done I have so are your eyes like that no they lenses they are hand pin that I'm wearing them they're made about an artist in Hollywood gosh they're amazing hand painted contact lenses hand painted contact as well yeah I don't wear this for work only for photo shooting so on photos they look amazing well let's have a look what what are your what's your natural eye color Umber umber [Music] collar I really don't know because obviously we've got to reflect our brand as well but then he is part of our M because he works for us you know so and that's all different types of people and different looks so I don't know yet let's see what it looks like on camera but his personality is definitely there to be honest I'm not feeling that confident I don't think that it will be me but if it is me it's great I'm going to represent my company with PR with pride is he the face of virgin's Next Top Model I would say [Music] not a lot of people seem to think Richard Branson still runs Virgin Atlantic in fact it's this man new Chief exec Craig ker today New York no thank you I'm fine thanks how are you very good how long youve been with us was a month on Saturday hey congratulations welcome aboard yeah so far so good it's always nice to meet someone newer than me that's uh that's that's my that's my criteria exactly I just hit a year so uh okay yeah to help get the company back into profit Craig has found a friend with Deep Pockets Delta Airlines made a whopping 2.8 billion last year sorry virgin has recently sold Delta a massive 49% of the company for access to the big bucks corporate Market in America this morning Craig's off to New York to shake hands on the deal I do know who I've got on board today a specific unique passenger yes our CEO our new CEO in fact today was the first time I'd met him so it's quite a good thing really so I was wondering what you were making Craig May lack Branson's celebrity status but he's no rookie after 27 years at American Airlines he's now got the tricky job of getting virgin out of the red the mission statement is very very clear it is to continue to do the things that virgin does best and be truly Virgin Atlantic but you're losing money well we have been but we're going to change [Music] that I'm very focused on trying to ensure that our customers continue to have the same experience that they've had all along which makes them feel cool about themselves to be a part of it do you think you're cool I'm trying hard to be cool I don't know you know it's funny I look at Richard and I think now that that's cool I don't think I can ever be cool like Richard but at the same time I don't feel like I'm particularly comfortable in a real corporate environment either so maybe I'm in between maybe you should grow a beard I have had a uh a goatee for for a few years actually and shaved it off a couple years ago because it went gray it was the most disappointing thing went from being Brown to gray like that I don't know what happened Craig needs to make sure that the tiny Airline isn't left out in the car old on Wall Street New York City with their boss on his way cabin crew hope their redh hot look will let everyone know Delta and virgin are in business do we feel glamorous shaking right now yes no we do I think we all yeah I feel glamorous it's yes I think you know we're here to rock a good look you don't want to let the side down absolutely not we don't want to let Richard down hi morning like picture with you my wife goes all excellent take a seat make your wife jealous got it travels ba oh sorry who [Music] who congratulations onip and all that you ever worry that virgin's going to be Deliz no I do not ever worry that virgin is going to be Del terized if that's even a word my goal is just to try and sell Virgin Atlantic to bigger audience as soon as you hear ladies and gentlemen that's your CE to go big smiles just having a good time and celebrating in a symbolic gesture tiny virgin and the new Mega rich men in Gray are closing today's [Applause] [Music] trading it's not just Craig who's keeping a close eye on the airline's future we showed a loss of 51 million for the financial year 2013 don't qu me on that uh which is a 50% better performance than the year before so since Craig's coming things look like they're moving in the right direction there's certainly a feel around the company that that's happening how long have you been here uh 10 years last month have you always done this no no no I was an accountant before this is there a big difference between accountancy and working at Virgin Atlantic yes massive I enjoy this this is a good place to be good people p startop the is crap but then everybody could say that couldn't they you know we don't work for money we work for love do you no you guys aware of the difficult times that youve aw we didn't get a rise for 5 years we were fully aware I mean I don't know anything about it you know I'm just a numpty warehouse but my impression is all the airlines are all in an alliance now with each other we wouldn't be a to just be Virgin Atlantic with 38 aircraft I don't think we'd be going anywhere only down this morning [Music] everything in here is everything it makes LR run so print cartridges computers champagne the black bags up here are uniformed Through The Years so from 1984 to current da uniform and obviously we've got the Vivian westw one coming in have you tried them on uh they struggle with my size funny enough why have you got tombstones up on the the Tombstones are remnants of uh Richard days when he had his Halloween parties around here why have you kept them it's it's our history it's very important to remember where we were Tom do you be so kindest to get a tombstone down for the [Music] guys when you get to my age you get a bit close to them anyway you know what I mean I'm old enough as it is I don't need mind it I mean at a time of economic strain spending money on new uniform and sort of all the other side of things seems a bit crazy it's keeping the brand alive I think that's that's what we're doing keeping ourselves fresh refreshing the look keeping us out there in the public eye unknown last seene entering a ba office a bit of humor from Richard I think you don't feel like a corporate mouthpiece not really I just feel like I'm a warehouseman that comes in does a job do what that man wants me to do but I'm lucky in as much once twice a year I can sit me crinkly old eyes on a decent seat and go somewhere nice you know what I [Music] mean Kirsty Kirsty yeah lovely again again this is thing nothing absolutely nothing to F with a weon from the open auditions rebi is trying to pick 30 wannabe models for her new uniform style manual are we all happy we've all got what we want and we all know what next steps are very happy now we just have to tell people so that can be the good part and it could also be not so nice let's start mim's been raped in to help make the calls really warm right are we ready M 07 anticipation Hopkins can't take your call right now oh but if you're in a business that flies around the world getting hold of people is going to be a challenge no I'm not having any look are we everyone's working let's go for somebody else let's go for [Music] Carissa I've been up down just realized there that's 8 hours 9 8 7 6 5 in the morning fortunately in Delhi it's clocking off time hello oh hi is that Richie yeah hello how are you fine I'm fine well we just wanted to call you to thank you again for coming over last week okay okay so I got selected for the final round the decision but the decision has been made so we're not going to put you through for the actual Runway magazine this time okay I'm not me for the runway so this time it's not possible not this time bye it sound like there was a dog on the train you hear that barking I don't know there was something in the background I love India yeah I love Del in shall we next up is Darren who's doing it for the dads and his 12 year old daughter hello hi is that Darren yes the decision's been made that we'd like to take you through to the photo shoots oh brilliant cool I tell you what my my daughter be impressed anyway guess what it's bir on the song and then tell you I got through as the next pop model oh brilliant oh that's amazing no way way thank you I'm excited now so she's a yes we've not had one person that said thank you but no thank you everyone really wants to do [Music] it with just days to go before the Dreamliner is due to be collected Nick's bosses have called him in for a design update do you get nervous when you have to go into things like this a little bit yeah it's can be a bit nervous you know that you can get be a bit nervous in that that with those people in the room it's uh yeah there's some quite high high power people there and their opinion matters quite a lot Nick's going to be part of the team bringing the new aircraft back from America I would just like to say this is the last meeting before we take over the aircraft which I think is a real major Milestone so um Nick couple of minutes over to you please to yeah so um what I plan to do when I go out to the uh to the US is when I fly back I'll be testing some of the cabin lighting we've got uh four firm seen that we've we've generated you going to show us pictures I was going to take you on on a kind of word Journey today it's a word Journey okay and then then when you get get to the aircraft you'll be like word Journey you called it I know yeah did you like that you got away with it I know yeah just about but early test flights on the Dreamliner have meant there are bigger things to concern the team than Nick's word Journeys was a sleep this night last night the C1 flight um took place but um shortly after takeoff there was a a rightand wing tertiary panel that that blown delaminated so they decided to return to return to the field we're all very eager to have the airplane for our inaugural First Flight it's all very wound it's wound very tight but it's not wound so tight that we should accept anything other than the highest standards that we need so you have my permission to delay the inaugural if it means getting the right airplanes dreamline is nearly here you can tell from this room and from the people who are fired up about it around the company um that one it's huge for us um as a business and two it's really huge for our people to see the big step forward and so for all those reasons we're really excited about it and your own track that was your one question I [Music] know at checkin it's dday for design Nick the gate will open at 20 2 when you're ready you just go up through FL track into the L thanks very much thank you bye-bye on your holidays no just going off to uh to Seattle to pick up the new airplane the 787 like you do yes yeah yeah quite an amazing trip do you think they're going to like your bar I hope so I hope as long as it's fully stocked everybody loves a fully stocked bar don't they so uh yeah once the new Dreamliner comes back to blighty it's the beginning of a brand new Fleet with the future of the airline pinned on its success how old is the aircraft we on now uh I would I would say yeah probably about 7 or 8 years old these aircraft are actually coming to the end of their life as well so that when the 787 comes in and maybe one of these aircraft and then we'll we'll move aside and and uh and the new aircraft will come in and replace it the airline hopes its new plane will cut crippling fuel bills and start saving them millions work starts really when uh when the aircraft lands in the UK we've got about a month to make sure that everything is working and everything's in in its place before passengers start boarding does it keep you awake at night it has done recently actually I will be honest yeah recently I've been up until about 3:00 in the morning my mind has been racing quite a bit on a North London industrial estate the pressure is also building on rebi and the team at the style manual photo shoot we' got three days to shoot this if it's wrong then on my head be it so it's a bit yeah I'm a bit nervous about [Music] it top fashion director Chris needs to pull out all the stops for the Couture look well that's nice they're like Pat butcher earrings why diamonds these were commissioned by a jeweler who made these fors specifically for this it's it's a a well-used fashion technique it's been used on some of the higher Brands Dior did it with m lunis a year ago because it's it's Vivian because it's virgin it's got to look stylish Hannah we don't know if that bit of hair looks right on camera can we just have a quick look we're just going to move it back it doesn't look right it just looks like it's out of place I think we'd end up having to edit it out and you it's got to be perfect and how many people is this going to be read by oh God about 10,000 so we need to get across exactly what our look is because this is what people will be looking at um and using as their Bible basically we want it to look like the brand and where our brand is going because I think we were turning into you know a bit vintage a little bit 80s a little bit retro a little bit Glamour Girl where is the brand going well the brand you know for us this whole look is around alluring and professional and approachable when we go into briefings we have our nails checked our hairs checked our lip yeah everything has to be perfect before you start shift and if it's not take it off and do it again it's no surprise that the staff have taken to the camera like true Pros but not everyone's so confident last up it's Darren you nervous no no no no a little maybe a little bit I don't normally have a clip in my hair hopefully they're going to make me look cool the shoes are too big for me so they put in some some cotton wo in the um front yeah Darren any tips gentleness is the key TOS nice gentle slow little [Music] movements until the runway launch it's back to the day job for everyone are you glad it's over kind of yes yeah yeah yeah I'm glad yes I'm glad it's over waiting in the fog near Seattle the airline's first ever Dreamliner is about to head home and start making [Music] money looks amazing really good really really really good very impressed you've bought the fog with you have we' been of a PE Super at the minute it's like a nice Welsh autum day technical problems mean delivery of the plane is delayed with no quick fix on the cards Paul Riley the state side project leader is trying to manage expectations there's a a minor defect that they're working through we're in that stage like an expectant mother at the moment waiting for the birth to happen and off we go and uh and enjoy the rest of it is that what it feels like you're about to give birth um something close to it if I I can only imagine what that feels like but I'm sure it's something similar delays could potentially cost a fortune in Lost Revenue at the Boeing offices virgin's big Chiefs are having an anxious power wow it's all very tense it is yeah it is very tense it's a bit behind schedule at the moment um there's a couple of problems with the aircraft that's the real issue at the moment everybody's ring around and trying to make uh make everything happen as quickly as possible director of operations Phil is heading over with Nick to help G things up how we doing so the um Carriage sealed carrier has just been dropped what's the latest these guys just discussed now with Phil about um some of the work that's been done on the uh on the underc carriage so they've jacked the actual aircraft up and they need to replace to seal a certain part and uh so they're just discussing that right now hopefully they can get sorted quite [Music] quickly at least there's one delivery that is happening on time in the crawly Warehouse the airline style Bible Runway is hot off the press it could only be you to where else can you work and get a nice Kiss by lovely friendly Postman is PR your present a little bit nervous having perfected the look Reby and the girls can finally get their hands on the glossy mag my gosh feels nice isn't it I think just seeing it you know all the copy and all the images yeah it's it's good this magazine now will be out for the next probably 5 years or so won't it so it's like it had to work what would you say to people say this is frivolous or you're an airline you don't need to make magazines and I'm sure you know there are people out there that would think it was frivolous um but obviously if our people are looking good and they're given a great customer service then people keep flying with us oh it's good we've got Mr creger in there oh look and there's hair and beauty Rebecca K Helen KF M Mor and and The Styling team Vivian West wooding man they look too bad is she right there how it should be worn coat obviously I bet they weren't cheap that looks really smart do not thing that's a new guy's suit no it's all there would I wear the men's stuff I definitely would wear the men's stuff the wearing stuff only the weekends at Boeing there's good news the airline's first Dreamliner is set to go tomorrow leaving Nick the chance to finally get on board and see the finished interior for the very first [Music] time you excited Mr lardi I am yes yeah it's great to see looks very clean a nice and tidy everything's in its place how many years have you waited for this moment s years 7 years yes to stand at this bar I hope it's worth it are you pleased with what you see yeah I think the cabin looks great I mean at the moment we've got the the white lights on the work lights some of the guys are working in here some of the the bone guys still working so they got the it's very difficult to work in the mood lighting when to see in the nooks and crannies but yeah that that looks really clean the cabin looks fantastic Nick hopes his snazzy designs will soon be wowing new passengers but first it's time to get the seal of approval from what we'll do with the mood lighting is that this area here will be maybe one color we'll have contrasting elements in in this area this has worked on every level it's just fantastic are you happy Nick I am very happy it feels happy then I'm happy when you see all the other players on the TAC do you feel like you're one of the big boys or do you think gulp no I think in reality I look at the other plans I think we're we're edgier we're better we're different we're differentiated we are going to win because we're providing something that they can't provide because we have that unique virgin fler we will win there's no doubt about that and we win with style are you quite competitive Phil yes next time the new Dreamliner comes back to a Great British welcome now the Hunt is on for the perfect Fizz in the skies you know another tough job but we're going to have to take this up in the air and see how it works keeping customers happy is a full-time job but he saids um I had numb gums and I was ill for a week and will virgin's new advert the central character is basically a young armish guy help to get them back on top there's a plane as [Music] well 6 months into her new job m virgin's head of comms is in Florida to meet her Maverick boss for the very first time let me just see if that's them yes it's oh here we go hi there it's so nice to meet you welcome thank you hi getting on very well thank you yeah in town for just an afternoon Richard Branson is filming not one but three videos for different strands of his Empire hey looking good feel good hi he's actually doing a lot of filming here today so he's doing some work with um Virgin America and also virgin hotels little down on the right just a smid he's into good spirits I think so yes yeah I mean he's jumping on a bed so rolling quiet please we are rolling [Music] sound after 30 years Branson the airlines oneman publicity machine is still still banging the drum do you enjoy doing things like this you know we've got a team of people around the world teams of people around the world creating some pretty exceptional things and the least I can do is make a little bit of a fool of myself to put them on the map you don't mind making a fool of yourself I think um making a fool of yourself occasionally is acceptable Andre how's it going so far everything's it's a very comfortable be it looks very comfortable although Branson no longer runs the airline dayto day his youthful exuberance still dominates I don't think you should ever grow up I really believe that why why should any of us grow old or or grow up anyway definitely none of us should grow up a grow up that's for sure right where are we going over here you met Richard Branson with his trousers on yes well we talking about being unconventional having a first uh discussion with uh the president of your company in his pants is an interesting one indeed and action hello uh well should I say well hello or just hello whatever you're comfortable with well hello sorry I'm getting sensitive now okay well hello uh sorry well well hello Sor don't think about it do you think Virgin Atlantic uh I may be having a bit of a midlife crisis bright red lipstick red high heels I think you've got to reinvent yourself uh all the time people ever say it's sort of dated now maybe even a little sexist I I'm certainly not worried about um people accusing us of being sexist um uh you know I mean that's a very American thing I think in Britain we're quite happy that if if uh you know if if our daughters look good or if you know and or if our sons look good well you know why why not Reuben is in charge of customer experience everything about the look and feel of the airline rests on his shoulders this is our wallpaper but actually the wallpaper is a montage of past present um you know it's who it's who we are I mean it's it's part of what attracts our customers to Virgin Atlantic who's that with Richard there that's P Anderson so I think this was a this was a a route launch and uh pamar Anderson was dressed as our flying lady so the flying lady that's uh that adorns the front of our aircraft is that the sort of thing you're going to retain with you moving away from that we are trying to move away a little bit from some of that um maybe some of that sexiness but I think that doesn't mean that we're looking to become boring you know we can be sophisticated without being boring haven't you got a rather Grand name for this area well this area here is our area of delight as it's known but you know we we have a lot of these spaces in the office where people can kind of move away from their desks and meet up with other colleagues and you know that's all part of how we come together at virin Atlantic and talk about stuff and get things done it's called the area of delight that's right yes what's what's what's this over here can we have a quick look at this I mean advertising is something that we've always been um quite renowned for and um this is actually our very very first advert from 1984 that you can probably tell if you look at the pictures of the Human League and Nick Kershaw how much was a how much was a flight to New York then £99 areas of delight Galore [Music] here Reuben is about to oversee the company's latest TV ad campaign the first for 2 years in previous ads sexy cabin crew raised pulses and titilated travelers all in the name of putting bums on seats now Reuben thinks it might be time to try a different approach to reflect the airline's maturing years 30 is a bit of a defining age you know we're we're not a a teenager anymore uh we we're we're growing up so I think we you know we've got to look to the next 30 Years and think about who we want to be when we grow up um so I think what we definitely don't want to be when we grow up is like everybody else all the embarrassing dad at a disco yeah good morning Vision atan how can I help I am sincerely sorry that that happened I I realized how difficult it was you were coming off the long flight if Reuben is all about the company's future dreams hi to Atlantic how can I help you today here in Swansea they deal with its daytoday reality num gums remember he said he had numb gums for like a month after he flew with us cuz he ate a sausage that was contaminated with industrial strength bleach I don't think that we're ever going to be able to please absolutely everybody you got 400 different types of people on board and somebody's always going to have something that they're unhappy about something to moan about so I said okay can I have the doctors's not I didn't go to the doctors okay well if you you know if you still had num gum numb [Music] gums the customer service teams handle up to eight thousand queries a day both good and bad do get the the occasional person who thinks that the hotel in a plane it's it's not it's it's it's a plane have you seen the ADV with all the people that are like telepathic I had one woman complaining that there wasn't any telepathic not even joking she was like in the adverts you say that it's almost telepathic service but there's nothing like that on board it's like yeah we got cabbing crew not magicians do you know what I mean got Daren Brown saing your chicken or beef you know you know you had an expectation there and we didn't fulfill it and I am sincerely sorry for that you have to be wel to work no no way we take everyone it does help if you will so yes it was a call to let the shack you received your luggage that's just economy um but there would be sort of other options if you want to look can help you today thank you very much hi there my name's Jody call from Virgin Atlantic in the customer relations department okay obviously it's in relation to the email that we've received from you just regarding um the big surprise we were obviously planning for your future husband oh I know um I feel absolutely terrible about it so I just wanted to obiously I've got a lady who has booked um a surprise honeymoon for her husband to be and basically when she phoned us she said you know obviously this is a massive surprise can you make sure that you don't contact my husband can you make sure like nothing goes to him at all and we've contacted her husband to let him know about a schedule change to his flights which is a bit of a disaster to be honest I don't think i' would have been quite as polite in my email as um you were in yours so thank you for that um yeah I I'm just truly sorry for what happened so obviously I wanted to do something nice for you to try and say sorry and try and come to a resolution so um what I'd like to do is send you1 worth of vouchers each no problem is there anything else I can help you with today I don't think people realize we're not a massive airl you know like with British Airways and they've got hundreds of fleets virgin's a small small Airline people overseas assume that we live next door to Richard Branson and that we got to go knock in his house to go and get like a resolution I'm sorry I'm on the phone or something you they'll say like oh you know I want to speak to Richard Branson is he there can you transfer me to him and I'm just like well to be honest he doesn't really run the day he does not not really involves in the day-to-day running of the business um what I'd like to do if it's our own with you um just as you know a gesture of Goodwill and to say we're sorry for what happened is ADD um 6,000 mi into your flying Club account he's not he's never even been here I wish he would come here I said last time like he he has parties and stuff all the time and I've never been to [Music] one what are you up to today Tom well as little as possible as all ways but you know something we got to make an effort for many employees Richard Branson has been key to the airline survival Richard Branson in the last probably 50 years has been as good as salesman as Britain's ever had created a lot of jobs is it whatever you say about the man he's created a lot of work for a lot of people and hasn't all been success is it certain things haven't worked but um you can't win all the time can you in life everyone at the airline is banking on its future but for Tom in the warehouse it's soon to become part of his past no good-looking back is it no goodl looking back you can't do anything about that it's only going forward you know I've got 10 months to go at Virgin Atlantic I've got no regrets I've certainly got no regrets about coming here you like used to play for Crystal Palace to yeah that that was last century long time ago played against Spurs one day uh on boxing day Jimmy Greaves and Alan Mal and all them sort you know Top Class players and then the next day we played Chelsea at home and we got beat 5-1 so I know what it's like to run out 50,000 people you know unfortunately I was 21 and I broke me Leg playing at Roam and basically that finished it all you never envious of what might have been I'm not envious of anybody the memories I've got no one can take away from [Music] me Heathrow Virgin Atlantic's Front Line the airline flies over 6 million passengers a year and the vast majority pass through these doors with comp competition so tough getting this bit right is crucial there's 40 Chinese patent apparently some who knows when they're going to show up one of the main jobs here is organizing the crowds I don't like to see a mess as I call it see man of the world oh you got to pick up a little bit Vinos is a good one for Spanish people come on let's go by pretty quick it's so efficient so efficient Japanese they'll all go single file they'll go through security get out their things in order it's like they synchronized despite best laid plans there are always surprises travel very exciting you don't know what's going to come the day at all 12 bags to check in in total lovely thank two car seats one obviously the Lagos flight does present unique challenges and it's normally surrounding the baggage it won't move you need to get it down to 32 okay somebody wants to check the golfish on the plane uh for free and I think they probably would have done it as well none of us caught them but yeah you get some really strange ones well probably the most unusual one that I saw was an actual car engine he opened his back he had a microwave in there yeah fridges you know when literally the kitchen sink they do bring kitchen sink huge Tellies wheel tires huge car bumpers I just got a crab she was going to Hong Kong a crab a crab you can't you can't take a crab on board [Music] no where's it coming in from vancou with passenger demands being dealt with front of house out on the tarmac engineer Paul is part of the team working Round the Clock keeping the planes fit to fly doing a walk at the aircraft making sure there's been no damage during the flight I don't forget she's been in the air for well over 10 hours so uh she's climed to about 38,000 ft with just 38 planes one of the smallest fleets in L haul they've got their work cut out you guys can't just replace a plane like other airlines you haven't got enough we don't have one sitting in a hanger spare one sitting on the openon somewhere that we could just drag [Music] over yeah I know typically Paul and the team have just a few hours to sort any problems it's very important consider you got a land an a plane which is weighing what around about 200 tons it's hairing down the runway about 160 170 mph you need a lot of stopping power and that's what these are part of towards you that's it if a plane can't be fixed in time it doesn't fly we deliver I think a top class service on perhaps not without the resources at someone like like ba it's a bit like a football team is a man city got all that money you know get all these players but they don't always produce who would you be ITP Which towns always it f [Laughter] [Music] sorry nearly 5,000 m away near Seattle the company are about to make a new signing that should promote its Fleet into the Premier League this is the Dreamliner 787 the air lines first with 16 more on order this flashy fuel saver will replace nearly half its Fleet and should start saving Millions that's the plane is being prepped now for us to fly out of here today so finally going to get the keys for the aircraft do you get keys no no no keys and just metaphorically you get keys um if uh if they were Keys they'd be very expensive Keys having waited over 7 years a select few have been sent out to ensure the prized plan's prompt arrival back in blighty can't wait to just get on her really get her own there on the verge written on it yeah give it [Music] away with enough seats for 264 passengers today just 31 of the airlines staff are on board nice to see you yes yes off the premium please with you a down only premium yes please you're manage thank you for our lovely plane she's very gorgeous see you later thanks a [Music] lot Matt wants the plane to be in tiptop condition when it lands she made a mess not me she made a mess she made a mess I'm just aware that we've got a lot of you know leadership team coming on and I want them to get that w ow as well as other people that are going to come on as well and I don't want rubbish on the floor so but I do want sexy lighting which is apparently we've got designer Nick has gotten until they land to perfect his Innovative new lighting before his bosses see it currently it's having an unfortunate effect on the cabin crew blouses will they saying the ultraviolet made their blouses see through that's what Lisa just said yeah yes like in a disco it makes everything quite white as a winner what happens when we land so when we land we do hit the ground running and people are going to get onto the aircraft fairly swiftly obviously these are going enter into service in about 18 days commercially um and there's a lot of training flights that need to be done by then back in the UK the first person to impress upon touchdown is Chief exec Craig who's yet to see the plane I you know I think for for for this company in this airplane this is a a particularly momentous occasion and one that I definitely had to be a part [Music] of the acid test when we land is is Craig coming on board yes he is yeah and I think some of the exec team will be with him as well fingers crossed we do get some sunshine down there because we want the aircraft to look great from the outside as well also awaiting the arrival play spotters Martin and Ray big day yeah very big day come down especially to see the 7 7 yeah I live locally and the version was on delivery so I thought I'd come and get a picture of it when the sun comes out if if it ever does this kind of looks pathetic our little our welcome party is huddled under umbrellas there's only like 10 of us it's like the biggest event in the company's history like got we got three people out for it a top tip when it comes to spotting a new plane leave it to the experts no oh it's no it's the wrong color it's blue that could be it wrong color red is what we're looking for it's on a appr is just going down wind at the moment it's just over bulam should be here weather permitting in about 5 or 10 minutes another memorable day in the aviation world with the arrival of the Dreamliner the airline's most precious new commodity the future has finally [Music] landed absolutely perfect absolutely perfect worth getting so for why they drench the plane it's like a tradition to like Christen a new aircraft look at the weather what have we done have we got anyone coming to meet us or anything or uh like who the whole world here I think [Music] [Applause] [Music] okay welcome would you like to come on board and try out don't drip I got to take my shoes on congratulations everybody conrat this is awesome a little bit my shoes appear to have shrunk in the rain I I took my shoes off as you yeah we were I'm not getting this this too beautiful there's a lot of people on my plane fantastic the F girls what you think water everywhere if I could have everyone's attention for just a second um today is a birthday it uh is the birthday of birthday girl and I think I'd like to say a toast to the future of Virgin Atlantic led by this airplane here here birthday girl Cheers [Music] [Applause] [Music] Cheers now they've got their plane it's time to start selling it to customers in West London Ruben is meeting up with a team who are responsible for the new ad campaign they've been working quite hard over the last few weeks and so today is kind of the the first reveal of the stuff that they've been working on it is a big deal yeah I mean our our marketing and our our advertising is quite iconic and I think it's it's about moving us forward a little bit you're not going to lose the sexy girls well I don't know we'll find out today but I think you know that's maybe that's part of evolving a little bit okay so the central character is basically is a young armish guy and he's dressed very traditionally and he's got a beard but this being advertising were you to dwell on him for a second you'll see that there's a good-look guy underneath all of that so it's that's going to be there just put a steela attic together again to give you a kind of vibe of the story we're in a small American Dusty town and he's standing outside a farm equipment store and he's holding a Tatty old suitcase and he's staring at a secondhand tractor what when you're going into these things how do you how do you stop these ideas sounding too pretentious um do you think they sound pretentious and then at that moment something is reflected in the store window and we cut and see that it's a virgin Virgin Atlantic plane he looks up at the plane and then he looks back down at the cash in the suitcase Cas and a super comes up that says life doesn't come to you so go to it and then we cut to an amazing shot the Virgin atantic flame flying through the sky Virgin Atlantic Let it Fly but in terms of when they first the first idea was about the arish yeah what went through your minds this is wrong that was the first idea we saw and I I was just hoping that it was going to get better um okay so obviously we've given you one story Let it Fly this next one oh the Places You'll Go this is about the greatness that exists in all of us and about inspiring and provoking our consumer to go seek it out and then let it fly things aren't going brilliantly but the ad team are banking on their second idea doing the trick So It Begins congratulations today is your day we pull out to see it's Benedict kbach dressed in a dressing gown in a plush London apartment is there a danger that things can come across as slightly potenti yeah absolutely I think there's always a danger you know ultimately what we're trying to do is tell people why they should come and fly with us you know that's that's what marketing is about at the end of the day they have a slightly different pace to them it's not an accident that they first in second why you got even better one for the third okay so in this commercial voice over says so you've got an idea for a film let's make it happen but now you need to sell it so get on a flight to La not any flight you see the Virgin Atlantic play midair see finally a simpler idea Pricks Ruben's interest how to follow your dreams by hopping on a Virgin Flight next you need to practice your pitch we see the barman expect me mixing a drink at the bar he'll do if I'm honest I was quite nervous before we went in there because as I said you before there's a lot riding on on this they showed us three possible options and I think we' we've landed on one where I think you know we're pretty excited about it what you what you won't see in this a is a big crowd of cevin crew walking through the airport which is perhaps what we've been synonymous with in the past so we thought what's really fun about that was that you could do business you could have Leisure stuff and then you could go right actually this same energy and approach if we're talking about a tri you don't have to tell the story why was this number three what does that mean because it was their best one cuz I mean it's thirdd is the favorite we've probably got eight weeks to get this done yeah from the scripts you saw today to having something finished there's a lot of work to do between now and and when we start going into production but um and it will evolve but I think I'm confident that we've got something that's really going to work how are you going to get the sexy cabin crew in all smash them up B to get all those lovely flavors out of the skin so you've got five weeks more sugar to get in there so they're going to be tart so this is about the acidity that we want thank you customer experience Guru Rubin has given the green light on the airline's new ad now he's turning his attention to the inflight entertainment this is the product that we would propose being most appropriate for the lower pressure 77 their new plane might be Posh but there are Urgent changes of foot in the bubbles Department the pressure on a 787 is lower so it has it has an impact on the bubbles for the champagne and so we're looking particularly for a sparkling wine where the bubbles will maintain their Fizz for longer um which you know work will work very well on both the 787 this is a really good English sparkling wine it's got a really nice bouquet on it these things are important to take into account you know you can taste something on the ground that can t taste very different in the a sit against us typically we carry about 30 bottles on each one of our flights um works out roughly about 100,000 bot a year of champagne sounds expensive it's yeah it's what our customers expect it's an important part of the upper class experience we've actually decided to go for the Mayon Hill Reserve which was the first one we tried actually you know another tough job but we're going to have to take this up in the air and see how it works up there as [Music] well very nice this is an emergency evacuate evacuate evacuate open your seat bels get out leave everything behind open your seats get out leave behind stand back help to their feet all right with the new Dreamliner due to enter service in 2 weeks cabin crew training is going full Pelt on the replica rig was safety training manager Matt can't get enough of its flashy features the other thing that L1 has FSM is emergency lights we we need to get at least an aircraft's amount of crew done before the aircraft flies so that's about 150 that they'll basically need and then we'll be doing these courses for the next two years get out everything be open your it's so simple honestly this is why this aircraft she's gorgeous but she's also simple okay um obviously nothing wrong with that nothing wrong with gorgeous and simple um happy super having a lovely time yeah course we are on the real Dreamliner Reuben's managed to snatch a precious few hours to shoot a scene for the new advert it's really exciting I mean this is you know this is always a big deal for us when we film our ads it's a big part of Who We Are but yeah we're all slightly nervous as well because we've got very very little time to do it and we've booked our slots on TV um needs to go out on the third of January regardless so it's quite a big deal it is a big deal yeah it's got to go right it has to go right we we've only got one shot of this two bus loads of cast and crew are tasked with making 7 Seconds of a 60-second commercial before the planes needed elsewhere guys all of you guys sit on that side cross over and sit on that yeah we have in I'm just yeah they're not going to bang the plane on I'm a little bit little bit nervous about the scratching and the bumping without giving too much away there's it's it's basically our guy is going to pitch an idea in the States and it's all about how our product helps you arrive in the in the best shape um and ready to do whatever it is you want to do the advert is trying to take the company in a New Direction still highend but without the high heels I'm an actor playing bman that's that's the extent of it yeah do you have to speak I yes I have to respond I'm the I'm the point at which like the world around the inner voice becomes aware of the inner voice and responds to it m this is this sounds quite deep yeah yeah it's abstract yeah what's your role today uh lady at the bar a faceless character on an important business trip meets various people on route from fellow passengers to the resident Barman that's that's the principle this might be a slight departure from what we've done in the past but then you know we we're always looking to to change and to move on doesn't sound that exciting you an airline I they they won't be bored with the ad but the ad will have a lot of energy it will have a lot of pace it will be exciting well it needs to be like it would be when the plane is [Music] airb I think that doesn't take away from that sense of trepidation and feeling of sense of responsibility you know you know even internally within our business people wait for wait for this you they they wait to see what the next ad's going to be do you think this ad is enough do you think this ad will will work it has to work [Music] for the final scene of his new ad Ruben's in a school hall in Budapest Hungary the former communist country is now a Hotpot for film shoots an army of Carpenters have built a set of Epic Proportions the ads faceless hero is pitching his idea to an assembly of world leaders well kind of like it that's amazing well now everybody looks at the camera the whole un it's not the UN it's the uh members of 6 68 Conference of something or other 68 is that significant no it's just better than 69 it is yeah precisely that would have been the old version and serious no no smiling now confident that people watching that will go I'm going to fly virgin it'll all come together this is one scene so I realize if you look at this it's a bit difficult to understand why this is going to make people buy tickets but in the overall story when it comes together it will it will look great I keep telling myself that for this sequence of just a few seconds 140 International extras have been drafted in where are you lat from I'm from Liberia you live in Hungary I live in Hungary what's your role today um I'm a a Russian Ambassador yes do you know who the advert is for no I don't know the company do you know the company that you're making uh maybe a Richman and he has a air plane there may be a huge cast but Chicago born Steven is the only extra with a speaking role okay well I'm should look like a very dignified un delegate it's a one of the important parts representing the Congo means Steven has to perform in French and does he speak French he's French they're saying but he's American oh but I think he speaks French I hope he speaks French no he's being fed do a French speakers um feeding in the lines [Music] oh my God just the he seems very nervous when he's delivering his line what's he got to say who who is this [Music] [Music] clown same thing smaller angry is easy to get to annoyed is a little bit harder as an actor to get to yeah even smaller he's supposed to be mildly irritated by this kind of nobody that's come in with some you know rubbish idea but not angry he's supposed to be sort of just slightly bored and mildly irritated too angry just mildly annoy right I can't watch anymore making me I've got maybe 100 reac now so and I've got everything from a Raz of the eyebrows to when it's overing it okay promisees something you can trust me on it's we've got everything that we need to make you work and action 3 2 1 now [Applause] with one Dreamliner plane and a massive International dignitaries all filmed and finished it's a rip everybody the new ad is in the can I think there's there's always going to be some hairy moments you know that you get nervous about but Team all behind this and I'll share the share the blame if it all goes [Music] wrong while Ruben hopes the new commercial will Herald a bright new future in the warehouse Tom is preoccupied with the past right got some 10e awards I believe 10 Year Awards yeah I'm just going to see the young lady in the office see if she's uh got it all ready what's the 10 year award after you've been here 10 years you get a lapel pin there you go thank you very much how many have you got there oh about 6 seven how many do we do 20 OD a month usually something like that quite a lot 6 700 800 people at least where's your 10year badge well do you know I too busy working I'm don't want to lose it so I keep it at home keeping a special drawer oh yes with me socks and me pants going [Music] forward what I've got to pick is a 10year sign card by Craig nine of and 10year award pins nine of coming down there's the card says it all congratulations on achieving 10 years service with Virgin Atlantic your commitment and loyalty over the years has been much appreciated here's to the next 10 Craig how's that there's your 10y year award say something about you didn't it the brand well the brand and everything how does it make you feel well you feel a little bit appreciate it don't you you become part of it it gets in your blood I could never ever see me working for anybody else seriously I could never seen for the last 18 odd years I've been happy financially it's not the shrewdest move I've ever done but I you know I'm not really money orientated when I come here I S well you get LS after and you do get after and you know the older you get it becomes more [Music] important the new Dreamliner plane has been flown to Atlanta home of virgin's new partner Airline Delta Richard Branson is the guest of honor [Music] the airport is hosting a press conference on its tarma the busiest in the world thank you great it's a bit [Applause] loud [Music] uh in the past we've talked about with people the challenging slots there there are enough [Music] slides the the important thing with Virgin Atlantic is everybody like likes to have fun they likes to enjoy their flight they like to be entertained [Music] I knew British Airways would do something like that just that's not someone trying to try that our work and I'm going to hand over to Craig who magnificently uh steers this Airline uh through thick and thin thank you the last 12 [Music] months actually that would be very helpful he got this new uniform come up girls come and show off your uniforms what do you think pretty [Music] good all right do a twizzle not bad not bad not bad we'll get arrested in America for doing that but we're allowed to do that in the UK anyway we finished the questions thank you very much thanks for coming this way going to take okay oh that that sound he was so tough notic for the first time Branson can see if the new $300 million plane is up to scratch have you seen how the windows work for example one of the really neat features of this airplane can you can change the brightness oh that's a great idea oh gorgeous these two panels here are Dynamic so behind there's about 50 LEDs each in each panel it's pre-programmed so they hit the different uh for the different scenes uh every single little detail is um uh magnificent so all right going to give him a hug come on big hugs big hugs big hugs and a kiss yeah sorry I mean that that's one of the that's one of the downsides of working for Virgin let's go let's go and see the crew rest I'll let you get to the top goodbye this is the crew rest area they get the best best spots on the play a little bit of an and it's again it's just nice to be like horizontal have you ever slept up here Richard um let me think in 30 years um uh now I I think I think my wife would kill me if she found me sleeping in the in the crew rest area I've just worked out I've been married 38 30 years the airline's been going now I definitely haven't you got a a lovely B but probably quite pricey bom why don't you just put more seats in um the airline the airlines that um offered nothing for the passengers except for seats are the ones that have disappeared so when accountants say you know take out things like the bar and put four extra upper class seats in it'll make you know make the airline 50 million you know more um it maybe in the short term it will in the long term we just become like any other Airline so we mustn't we just mustn't mustn't let the accountant swim why uh because if you're a smaller Airline you've got to be the best um and if you're not the best um you don't survive if you are the best you do survive do you think you've got another 30 years in you the airline definitely has whether I have well we'll have to see I I'm doing my best the latest company figures have just been announced and after years in the red the colorful Airline is back in the black just but only time will tell if its long-term future is bright for straight Talking Tom after nearly 19 years at the company retirement is on the horizon and he's getting all philosophical are you optimistic about the future yeah next 6 months I reckon I'm all right for everybody else I'm not quite sure you know I'll be 65 in 6 months I can you know caser are then but um yeah I think this future be right I think oh anyway can I go now do some [Music] work

Channel: Our Stories

Views: 1,052,826

Keywords: Our Stories, Documentary, Observational Documentary, Real Stories, Full Episode, Full Length Episodes, Full Documentary, Fly On The Wall, Yearbook, Real Life, Documentaries, Real Lives, Behind The Scenes

Id: lcO5fHwCeYo

Length: 132min 46sec (7966 seconds)

Published: Sun Oct 22 2023