TravelMole
Air

Virgin boss dresses up for AirAsia chief

Monday, 13 May 20133 min read

Virgin boss Sir Richard Branson dressed up as an air stewardess during a five-hour flight after losing a Grand Prix bet with AirAsia chief executive Tony Fernandes.

Donning a full face of makeup and the red AirAsia skirt and jacket, Branson offered to serve drinks and even clean toilets on board the flight from Perth in Australia to Kuala Lumpur, in payback for a Formula 1 bet he lost in 2010.

Branson, known for his love of dressing up, said to the Daily Mail: "We both had Grand Prix teams and I was absolutely certain that I was going to win."

"Something went wrong. Of course the drivers of that race are no longer with us. I went to extreme lengths to avoid being here, but knew that one day I had to get it over with."

The funds from the flight went to the Starlight Foundation for ill children.

Malaysian-born Fernandes, who describes the Briton as his mentor, used to work for Branson before setting up his own budget airline.