Virgin Atlantic Airways, the First Airline to Offer Personal Inflight Entertainment, Premieres as Partner Airline of 2011 Telluride Film Festival

SOUTH NORWALK, Conn., July 21, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Virgin Atlantic Airways is the partner airline of this year's Telluride Film Festival taking place in Telluride, Colorado from September 2 - 5, 2011.  This is the first year that Virgin Atlantic has participated in the festival, which was founded in 1974 by Tom Luddy, James Card, and Bill & Stella Pence.  As part of this year's festival, Virgin Atlantic will host one of the much anticipated tributes, which honors a distinguished artist.  Past recipients have included Colin Firth, Viggo Mortensen, Meryl Streep and Clint Eastwood, among others.

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"Virgin Atlantic is proud to support the Telluride Film Festival and its ongoing dedication to the film industry," said Chris Rossi, Senior Vice President, North America, Virgin Atlantic.  "The festival is a perfect fit for Virgin Atlantic as our in-flight entertainment offerings are an integral part of our passenger's onboard experience.  We look to Telluride and similar global film festivals to inspire our content."  

To celebrate Virgin Atlantic's support of the festival and the film industry, the airline will offer movie fans two chances to attend this year's event as a guest of the airline via an exclusive Two to Telluride Giveaway on Facebook from July 21 to August 7.  Winners will receive two exclusive Patron Passes, round trip airfare from anywhere within the 48 contiguous United States to and from the Festival, and hotel accommodation for the duration of the festival.  Individuals 18 and older can enter by first "liking" the Virgin Atlantic Facebook page at www.facebook.com/virginatlantic, then filling out an online entry form.  Entrants can increase their chances to win by inviting friends to enter in the draw.  

Virgin Atlantic has always stood at the forefront of the industry, putting state-of-the-art technology at passengers' fingertips to make traveling a memorable experience.  In 1989, the airline revolutionized the onboard entertainment experience as the first airline to offer individual TVs to their Upper Class passengers and followed by the 1991 debut of personal screens with six channels in all classes of service.

As technology advances so has Virgin Atlantic's in-flight entertainment offerings, which now features 10.5" personal screens offering 300 hours of on-demand audio and video, including more than 100 hours of television, 150 full-length CDs, 20 video games, an assortment of audio books and 60 movies.

The programming, which is carefully curated by a full time in-house acquisitions team, is comprised of current Hollywood blockbusters as well as "independent" style films to satiate any movie lover's tastes.  In addition, the team highlights a list of their favorite films as part of the "Virgin Loves" program.

Earlier this year Virgin Atlantic launched Jam, a new touchscreen in-flight entertainment system to be installed on all 10 of the airline's Airbus A330 aircraft.  Passengers can swipe across screens, scroll through text and instantly jump around the easy-to-use system, with a touch of a fingertip, using the sharpest graphics and full screen animations.

"Virgin Atlantic is a terrific partner and great supporter of the Telluride Film Festival," said Julie Huntsinger, Festival Co-director.  "It is important for the Festival to work with brands that share our passion for film and entertainment, comfort, style and fun, which Virgin Atlantic demonstrates on all of its flights."

For additional information on Virgin Atlantic Airways, visit www.virgin-atlantic.com  and for details on the 2011 Telluride Film Festival, visit www.telluridefilmfestival.org/

About Virgin Atlantic Airways

Virgin Atlantic Airways, one of the world's leading long-haul airlines, was founded in 1984, and currently has 38 aircraft in its fleet. Virgin Atlantic offers service from 10 US cities 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 Telluride Film Festival

The prestigious Telluride Film Festival ranks among the world's best film festivals and is an annual gathering for film industry insiders, cinema enthusiasts, filmmakers and critics. TFF is considered a major launching ground for the fall season's most talked-about films. Co-founded in 1974 by Tom Luddy, James Card, and Bill and Stella Pence, Telluride Film Festival, presented in the beautiful mountain town of Telluride, Colorado, is a four-day international educational event celebrating the art of film. Telluride Film Festival's long-standing commitment is to join filmmakers and film connoisseurs together to experience great cinema. The exciting schedule, kept secret until Opening Day, consists of over two dozen filmmakers presenting their newest works, special Guest Director programs, three major Tributes to guest artists, special events and remarkable treasures from the past. Telluride Film Festival is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit educational program. Festival headquarters are in Berkeley, CA.

SOURCE Virgin Atlantic