'Travelreads' Launches to Help Flyers Discover New Places

SOUTH NORWALK, Conn., March 21, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Virgin Atlantic today announced a partnership with Longreads to introduce a new service called "Travelreads" that will help flyers discover new travel destinations or learn more about the ones they already love. Travelreads will deliver curated in-depth articles for travel junkies to explore places around the globe while they're on the move. Stories can be discovered by following @Travelreads on Twitter, or on Facebook and Longreads.com/Travelreads. Users can also share their favorite stories by posting links using the #travelreads hashtag.

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Longreads is the largest social reading community on the web dedicated to long-form journalism and short fiction. Longreads started as a single Twitter hashtag in 2009, which later developed into an online community where people could share stories they found interesting on a range of topics.

Since its earliest days Virgin Atlantic has shown a love for travel and offered a unique passenger experience. Travelreads taps into this pioneering spirit.

"We wanted to offer Virgin Atlantic passengers an easy way to enjoy some of the best travel literature and perhaps be inspired for new adventures," said Chris Rossi, Senior Vice President, North America for Virgin Atlantic. "We think Travelreads is a great way to create a new online community dedicated to people with a passion for travel." 

On a daily basis, Longreads editors will point readers to compelling articles about exotic locales and far-flung places, linking to publications across the web. Unlike traditional travelogues, stories highlighted on Travelreads will be long-form informative pieces, typically between 1,500 and 30,000 words, penned by top writers and journalists. Through this innovative approach to curation and "geolocated storytelling," Travelreads will engage Virgin Atlantic customers and enhance their travel experiences. 

Mark Armstrong, founder of Longreads, said: "Longreads has always been perfect for enjoying great storytelling on a flight, on a trip, or even just at home on the couch, planning the next adventure. We're thrilled to team with Virgin Atlantic on the launch of Travelreads, and excited to provide this service to both of our communities."

About Virgin Atlantic Airways
Virgin Atlantic Airways, one of the world's leading long-haul airlines, was founded in 1984, and currently has 40 aircraft in its fleet. Virgin Atlantic offers service from 10 US cities and Vancouver, BC to London and onto a range of long-haul destinations worldwide. From its main base at London Heathrow and Gatwick, Virgin Atlantic services destinations as far apart as Las Vegas, Tokyo, Delhi, Boston and Shanghai. Even with Virgin Atlantic's continued growth, the service still remains customer driven with an emphasis on value for money, quality, fun and innovation ensuring flying Virgin Atlantic is always an event. Pioneering many air travel innovations, Virgin Atlantic received a number of 2010 travel trade awards including for the third consecutive year, Travel Weekly's "Best International Airline," Global Traveler's "Best Airline for Premium Economy Class," Business Traveler's "Best Premium Economy Class in the World" and for the first time, "Best Airport Clubs/Lounges." To book travel contact 800-862-8621. For additional information, visit www.virgin-atlantic.com.

About Longreads
Longreads is one of the largest social reading communities on the web, helping readers find and share the best storytelling, non-fiction and fiction, over 1,500 words. Longreads, founded in 2009, was the first service to tap into online readers' hunger for long-form content on the web: In 2012 it was awarded Ad Age's Media Vanguard Award and was named one of Gizmodo's 25 Most Viral in social media. Readers can go to Longreads.com to find new story recommendations every day. 

SOURCE Virgin Atlantic