SOUTH NORWALK, Conn., Dec. 28, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- A multimillion dollar television advertising campaign celebrating the extraordinary talents of Virgin Atlantic's employees launches this Saturday, December 29. The ad is designed to highlight the amazing skills of the airline's staff of crew, designers, pilots and everyday pioneers.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20101001/NY74547LOGO )

The campaign launches at a time of expansion for the airline, as Virgin Atlantic launches a domestic flying program in the United Kingdom with service between London Heathrow and Manchester, Aberdeen and Edinburgh. The airline is seeking 150 new staff for this launch and the ad gives an insight into the kind of people that make Virgin Atlantic 'fly in the face of ordinary' and provide prospective passengers 'a welcome splash of red in a weary world of grey.'

Sir Richard Branson, President of Virgin Atlantic, said: "We're always on the lookout for gifted people to grow our business. Our staff hold the keys to the future of Virgin Atlantic; they work so hard, and we are delighted to dedicate this new advert to them."

"Our advertisement is a powerful New Year message encouraging everyone to look again at young people and the talents they have to offer to businesses and industries all over the country. People are at the heart of Virgin Atlantic and this campaign celebrates them."

Based on the lives of real people who work at the airline today, the ad traces the lives of gifted youngsters born with special skills, and how they later use those talents to become outstanding employees at Virgin Atlantic. One child has an amazing love of flight, and goes on to become a leading pilot. Another has a keen interest in how things work, and later becomes one of the company's leading design engineers. Others with excellent people and intuition skills become outstanding cabin crew members and ground staff.

The ad kicks off the airline's new marketing campaign with the slogan "Flying in the Face of Ordinary," which is designed to capture Virgin Atlantic's pioneering spirit. It will be broadcast on television stations, Hulu, video-on-demand networks, broadcaster apps and online channels globally from January 1, 2013. A sneak-peak is available on the airline's website today, December 28.

Watch it now at www.virgin-atlantic.com

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 ten US cities as well as Vancouver to London, and onto a range of long-haul destinations worldwide. From its main base at London's Heathrow and Gatwick airports, Virgin Atlantic services destinations as far apart as Las Vegas, Tokyo, Delhi, Boston and Shanghai. Even with Virgin Atlantic's continued growth, 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 recently received a number of travel trade awards including, for the fourth 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," "Airline with the Best Business Class Service in the World" for 2012 by Premier Traveler and, for the first time, CNN's "Best Airport Clubs/Lounges" for the Clubhouse at New York's JFK. To book travel contact  1-800-862-8621. For additional information, visit www.virgin-atlantic.com

SOURCE Virgin Atlantic