Five new Virgin Atlantic aircraft ‘icons’ revealed

As we gear up for the launch of the new Virgin Atlantic Upper Class seat next Monday, Virgin has rolled out five new “Flying Icons” to adorn its new A350-1000 fleet.  These will replace the traditional Flying Lady image.

The icons, covering a mix of genders, races and orientations, are designed to be more representative of modern Britain and will be rolled out on four new A350-1000 aircraft this year, followed by a further eight by 2021.

Virgin Atlantic’s original use of the Flying Lady was inspired by the figureheads that have traditionally decorated ships.  The original design was apparently based on Alberto Vargas’s images of pin up girls from the 1930s and 1940s.

Here is a mocked up image, click to enlarge, on an aircraft to be named Red Velvet.  You can see all five new icons in this 15-second YouTube video.

How to earn Virgin Points from UK credit cards (December 2021)

As a reminder, there are various ways of earning Virgin Points from UK credit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses.

You can choose from two official Virgin Atlantic credit cards (apply here, one has a bonus of 15,000 points):

Virgin Atlantic Reward Mastercard

The UK’s most generous free Visa or Mastercard at 0.75 points / £1 Read our full review

Virgin Atlantic Reward+ Mastercard

15,000 points bonus and the most generous non-Amex for day to day spending Read our full review

You can also earn Virgin Points from various American Express cards – and these have sign-up bonuses too.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold is FREE for a year and comes with 20,000 Membership Rewards points, which convert into 20,000 Virgin Points:

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 20,000 points, FREE for a year & two airport lounge passes Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express comes with 30,000 Membership Rewards points, which convert into 30,000 Virgin Points:

The Platinum Card from American Express

30,000 points and an unbeatable set of travel benefits – for a fee Read our full review

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Virgin Points. 

(Want to earn more Virgin Points?  Click here to see our recent articles on Virgin Atlantic and Flying Club and click here for our home page with the latest news on earning and spending other airline and hotel points.)