Virgin America Introduces Posh New First Class Food Service: New Menu Offers Linen Table Service, A Cocktail Hors d'Oeuvres Course And A Custom Created Humphry Slocombe Ice Cream Flavor Designed For Virgin Flyers

SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 20, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Virgin America, the California-based airline already known for its award-winning cuisine and international-grade First Class cabin, today announces a new enhanced First Class menu and service that will launch on its long-haul business flights between San Francisco and Los Angeles to Newark, New York, Boston and Washington, D.C. (Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport) – as of March 4, 2014. To supplement the traditional after-takeoff cocktail service, the new menu will include the addition of cocktail hors d'oeuvres of roasted tomato, marinated artichoke heart, olive and mozzarella skewer, served with warmed mixed nuts – as well as a choice of two appetizers and three entrees in-flight. The 'cherry on the top' of the new service is the debut of the airline's first custom ice cream flavor, developed in collaboration with San Francisco's cult favorite ice cream maker, Humphry Slocombe. The artisanal ice cream will be hand-delivered daily to the airline's sleek home base at San Francisco International Airport's (SFO) Terminal 2 to be served to First Class guests on the airline's eastbound flights from SFO. Today, the airline is inviting its 'foodie' travelers to help decide the soon-to-be signature Virgin America ice cream flavor by casting their vote via Twitter for one of three exclusive ice cream flavors created for the airline by Humphry Slocombe. Travelers in any cabin can also score a free scoop of Humphry Slocombe's ice cream at either of the outlet's two San Francisco locations (The Ferry Building & Mission) by presenting their Virgin America boarding pass from March 4-June 30th. The airline is also updating its First Class service settings, with hot towel and linen table service available on all flights. Full menu highlights are listed below.

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Humphry Slocombe – ranked as "SF's Best Local Ice Cream" by Thrillist - was founded in 2008 in San Francisco and is known for its witty and inventive approach to mixing unusual flavors – like the bourbon and cornflakes featured in their popular "Secret Breakfast" flavor. Today through February 28^th, Virgin America fans and flyers can cast their vote for one of three custom-developed Humphry Slocombe flavors by tweeting the flavor's hashtagged name. The flavor with the most votes will become the airline's signature ice cream flavor and will be served up alongside Humphry Slocombe's delicious Tahitian Vanilla on SFO-originating flights in First Class starting March 4^th.

Guests traveling through SFO's T2 today can taste test the new Virgin flavors before casting their vote. The three flavors are:

• #ButterByMoodlight: Inspired by Virgin America's signature moodlighting, this flavor is a creamy combination of brown butter and blueberry glaze.
• #RedHotBanana: Combines buttery banana cream with sweet cinnamon spice from mashed Red Hot candies.
• #CoconutBlondAmbition: A nod to Virgin Group's inimitable founder Sir Richard Branson, Humphry Slocombe's signature vanilla marshmallow fluff mingles with lemon citrus sorbet and a creamy coconut finish.

Virgin America's First Class cabin features international-grade amenities such as plush white leather seating with 55-inches of pitch, 165 degrees of recline and lumbar massagers. The airline's premium service has helped it capture the "Best U.S. Business/First Class" award in Conde Nast Traveler's annual Business Travel Poll for the past six years. In addition, Virgin America's menu was named the "Best Domestic Airline for Food" award in Travel + Leisure's World's Best Awards. As the only airline headquartered in San Francisco, Virgin America focuses on seasonal and locally-sourced ingredients for its menu, including fair trade coffee, local cage-free eggs, and emerging local food purveyors like Humphry Slocombe.

First Class guests on Virgin America will enjoy an even more upscale menu and service experience as of March 4, with tempting offerings like a mixed herb salad with bresaola, soba noodles with lemongrass shiitake broth and faro risotto with spring succotash. The full First Class menu can be found here starting March 4, and highlights from the upcoming spring menu include (selections vary by route):

Breakfast:
Scrambled Eggs with Herb Creme Fraiche and Tropical Fruit Salad: Cage-free scrambled eggs served with herb creme fraiche, sage-roasted Yukon Gold potatoes, a grilled Roma tomato, and optional maple chicken-and-bacon sausages. On the side is a tropical fruit salad of mango, kiwi, strawberry, pineapple, and a basil-lime dressing.
Protein Plate with Farro Pudding and Edamame Hummus: Coconut-mango cardamom farro pudding served with a protein plate of edamame hummus, one boiled cage-free egg, red grapes, radishes, dolma, yellow roasted tomato, marinated artichoke heart, mini pita breads, and sliced cheddar and camembert cheeses.
Protein Plate with Granola and Strawberry Yogurt: Assorted fruit plate of kiwi, pineapple, blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, mango, lychees, green grapes, grapefruit, and oranges, served with strawberry low-fat yogurt and gluten-free granola.

Cocktail Hors d'oeuvre: Roasted tomato, marinated artichoke heart, olive and mozzarella skewer, served with warmed mixed nuts.

Appetizers:
Mixed Herb Salad: A fresh mixed-herb salad of cilantro, basil, parsley, chervil, and chives, served with roasted cashews, Japanese cucumber, red teardrop tomato, hearts of palm, and a sweet chili vinaigrette.
French Green Bean Salad with Prosciutto: Cold haricot verts salad sprinkled with shaved parmesan cheese, pitted country olives, lemon and olive oil zest, and a toasted hazelnut-lemon vinaigrette with savory prosciutto on the side.

Entrees:
Chicken Breast with Apple Fig Compote: Roasted chicken breast in an oregano, rosemary, and lemon marinade and a fig-apple Madeira jus compote, served with roasted garlic cauliflower puree and collard greens sauteed in sage and pancetta.
Protein Plate with Mixed Nuts and Edamame Hummus: Edamame hummus and mixed nuts with a protein plate of one boiled cage-free egg, red grapes, radishes, dolma, yellow roasted tomato, a marinated artichoke heart, mini pita slices, and cheddar and camembert cheeses.
Tomato Bisque Soup with Spanish Turkey Prosciutto Sandwich: Half Spanish turkey prosciutto sandwich and tomato-bisque soup with an herb and lemon creme fraiche garnish and a Belgian chocolate truffle.

Desserts:
Spiced Chocolate Cake: Rich Chocolate cake drizzled in sherry sauce and a pinch of candied sunflower seeds.
Humphry Slocombe Ice Cream: San Francisco creamery Humphry Slocombe sweetens the skies with two mile-high flavors, Tahitian Vanilla and one custom flavor created exclusively for Virgin America.
Raspberry Key Lime Pave: Vanilla sponge cake with ginger and raspberry and key lime mousse.

Virgin America also is refreshing its full seasonal menu across cabins in March that will be available through the spring season. The full menu will be available at www.virginamerica.com on March 4^th and selections vary by route. With top-notch service, beautiful design and a host of high-tech amenities, Virgin America has built a loyal following since its 2007 launch. The airline offers fleetwide WiFi, power outlets and personal entertainment at every seat. The airline's Red^™ in-flight entertainment platform offers guests their own seatback touch-screen TV, with 25 films, live TV, Google Maps, 4,000 song library and an on-demand menu – so flyers can order a cocktail or snack from their seatback any time during a flight. In 2012, Virgin America opened its first airport lounge, The Loft at LAX, and rolled out enhancements to its Elevate frequent flyer program — including Elevate Gold and Elevate Silver status levels.

For photos of the new First Class menu service and custom ice cream flavors: www.virginamerica.com/vx/first-class-food-service-photos

Broadcast quality video b-roll of the airline's aircraft cabins can be downloaded at: www.virginamerica.com/html/39049.zip

About Virgin America: Headquartered in California, Virgin America offers guests attractive fares and a host of innovative features aimed at reinventing air travel. With topnotch guest service and beautiful design, Virgin America has earned a host of industry awards since launching service in 2007. The airline's base of operations is San Francisco International Airport (SFO)'s beautiful and sustainable Terminal 2. With one of the youngest fleets in the U.S., Virgin America offers Gogo^™ WiFi, interactive in-flight entertainment systems with the largest media library in the North American skies via the touch-screen Red^™ platform and power outlets near every seat. For more: www.virginamerica.com

SOURCE Virgin America