Very few people enjoy flying in an airplane. It’s tedious, boring, and stuffy. Basically, flying is a drag. But what would you say if a flight could be a drag show? Virgin Atlantic will accomplish just that on June 28th, 2019 on their Pride Flight, according to The Guardian to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots.
The flight will be hosted by Tituss Burgess, who plays as the campy Titus Andromedon (also known as Ronald Wilkerson, Flouncy Magoo, Cork Rockingham, Murasaki, and Trevor Millionair) in Netflix’s hit show Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. Anyone who has seen the show knows just how over-the-top and flamboyant Titus is so this flighy should be nothing short of entertaining. The flight will leave from Heathrow in Longford to Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey (The Guardian article says it’s in New York but as a New Jersey native I had to set the record straight) to celebrate World Pride in 2019, which, as stated above, marks the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, which are widely regarded as the cornerstone of modern day gay rights movements.
On the eight-hour flight, there will be many colorful, lively, and gay events performed by an entirely LGBTQ staff, such as live performances, drag queen bingo, and a Judy Garland singalong, so while people are flying somewhere over the rainbow they can be entertained, unlike watching the same exact movie multiple times. It’s definitely not your average “please fasten your seatbelt and return your tray table to its upright and locked position” kind of flight and it seems exactly like the type of flight that I would want to be on because I always like to keep it gay.
Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Holiday united with the non-profit organization NYC & Company and Alliance for Downtown New York. The tickets for the flight range from £380 (approximately $502) to £699 (approximately $924). Virgin Airlines’ executive vice president and global LGBT lead for Virgin Group, Mark Anderson, says that Virgin is dedicated to this flight, saying that Virgin is not “the type of company to mark an occassion like this half-heartedly” and that they “take… commitments to diversity and inclusion seriously but… have a lot of fun along the way.”
It’s nice to see companies standing in solidarity with LGBTQ people in a world as divisive as this one. The next time I fly, I’ll fly Virgin.
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