Virgin Atlantic have shared a couple of videos and the full press release introducing The Falcon, a Virgin Atlantic Boeing 747 celebrating Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. Here’s the press release: –
Virgin Atlantic has unveiled a brand new, one-of-a-kind Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge plane wrap on one of its Boeing 747 aircraft, which has taken to the skies today. The themed plane will now transport holidaymakers from London Gatwick Airport to Orlando, Florida, where they will be able to experience Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, at Walt Disney World® Resort.
The plane, which will be known as “The Falcon” – showcasing the iconic Millennium Falcon – the iconic spaceship once owned by Han Solo – is one part of Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Holidays’ celebrations of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, which opened in Orlando in August.
As well as “The Falcon” official plane unveiling, Virgin Holidays has also launched The Ultimate Virgin Holidays Star Wars Experience – a curated themed holiday experience to Walt Disney World® Resort in Florida, which will take off between 15 and 22 February 2020 – giving fans the chance to live their Star Wars adventure, bigger and bolder than ever before.
To celebrate the aircraft entering Virgin Atlantic’s flight operations today, Virgin Holidays has also launched a social media competition, encouraging members of the public who spot the plane, to capture and share images, for the chance to win two seats on board The Ultimate Virgin Holidays Star Wars Experience.
The competition is simple – anyone who spots the Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge aircraft can snap and share an image on their personal Instagram account, tagging both Virgin Holidays and Virgin Atlantic, and including #TheFalcon in the photo caption. All entries received by Wednesday 9 October will be entered into a prize draw.
The highly-anticipated land, which is located at Disney’s Hollywood Studios® Theme Park, is set on Black Spire Outpost on the planet Batuu, located at the outer rim of the galaxy. Once there, Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Holidays’ guests will be able to experience all-new Star Wars attractions and enjoy immersive entertainment, rubbing shoulders with smugglers, rogue traders and adventurers – all the while avoiding the ever-expanding reach of the First Order.
Joe Thompson, Managing Director of Virgin Holidays, said: “We are incredibly proud to see ‘The Falcon’ take flight, featuring the iconic Millennium Falcon, from the much-loved Star Wars saga, as it wings passengers to experience the thrilling, new Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge land at Walt Disney World® Resort in Florida.
“Over the last three decades, we have taken millions of British holiday-makers to enjoy the magic of Disney and we know that so many of our customers have been excited about planning their trip to experience this new land. We hope those lucky enough to board ‘The Falcon’ will enjoy their journey with us, even more.”
Dave Napper, Senior Engineer, Virgin Atlantic said: “It was a very exciting brief to be able to redesign our aircraft livery to represent something as iconic as the Millennium Falcon and it’s not something that you get to do every day. We have many Star Wars fans within the company who jumped at the chance to get involved in some way, and we cannot wait to see ‘The Falcon’ take flight.”
Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge – Virgin Atlantic plane wrap facts
• The film used to wrap the aircraft could cover four tennis courts, including Centre Court at Wimbledon!
• The decal is 44 metre long from end to end
• The decal took three weeks to print, using 14,000 millimetres of ink
Here’s a time lapse of Virgin Atlantic’s Boeing 747-400 G-VLIP being wrapped in the Star Wars livery: –
Virgin have also launched a new social media competition today for people that spot The Falcon (the plane will service the route between London Gatwick and Orlando International Airport from today). Take a photo and share the picture on social media ensuring you tag @virginholidays and @virginatlantic, with #TheFalcon and you could win an amazing trip on their Star Wars Fan Flight which takes off in February 2020.
You can book your adventure to Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge from the UK to Walt Disney World with Virgin Holidays here.
Safe travels and clear skies!
