Branson will be a hostess for the day after losing bet with AirAsia boss
Sir Richard Branson will slip into a red skirt and get behind the drinks trolley on a special charity flight with AirAsia next month.
He will serve 250 guests on a specially chartered flight from London Stansted to Kuala Lumpur on May 1.
The Virgin boss lost a friendly bet with AirAsia Group CEO Tony Fernandes made on the sidelines of the 2010 Bahrain Formula One GP.
Fernandes is co-principal of Team Lotus and its team has just beaten Branson’s Virgin Group & Marussia Virgin Racing after 19 races.
A total of 160 tickets onboard this special flight will be made available for sale on AirAsiaGo.com between now and April 24.
Flight tickets for this once in a lifetime experience are available at £4,500, while flights and accommodation packages start at £5,000 for a single accommodation and £5,200 for twin sharing.
Return flights from Kuala Lumpur to London are also included in the packages.
Street magician Sav the deceptionist will also be on board and Eddie Jordan has loaned his band ‘Eddie & The Robbers’ for in-flight entertainment.
Guests who can’t be on the flight, but would like the chance to be entertained by Branson, Fernandes, and a host of British and Malaysian celebrities in Kuala Lumpur can purchase tickets to a Charity Cocktail Party at £350 on May 2, 2011.
Fernandes said: “We’ve come a full circle, Richard and I. Who would’ve thought my mentor will be serving as a flight attendant on AirAsia?
“I’ve got my razor ready, and I can’t wait to shave his hairy legs!”
The proceeds from the flights and an auction will go to charitable causes which will be announced at a later date.
By Bev Fearis
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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