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Sir Richard Branson to Serve as an Air Asia Stewardess

Filed under: Wings, Charity, Men's Style, Wealth

t may not be what everyone would call a good time, but if your sense of adventure includes being served cocktails by one of the world's richest men dressed in a skirt, then head on over to Air Asia. Because in short order, they'll have none other than Sir Richard Branson serving as a stewardess aboard one of their flights.

The development resulted from a friendly bet between two Formula One team owners: Branson and his Virgin Racing team on one hand, and Tony Fernandes and his Lotus Racing team on the other. Both are newcomers to the sport, and both own their own airlines (Virgin Atlantic and Air Asia, respectively). So they made a little wager: whoever's team fared worse in this, their first season on the grid, would have to serve as a flight attendant – in drag – on the other's airline.

Having won the bet, Fernandes plans to place Branson on a long-haul flight from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to London, England – a flight for which he'll be selling tickets to raise money for charity.

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Tags: air asia, branson, flight attendant, richard branson, sir richard branson, stewardess, tony fernandes, virgin

Who Should Play Sir Richard Branson In New Movie?

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wealth

Variety is reporting that David Mirkin who wrote "The Simpsons Movie" is the person who will handle film adaptation of billionaire Sir Richard Branson's memoir "Losing My Virginity." Steven Paul acquired the rights from Branson and is producing the through Junction Films along with Mirkin. Acording to the article in Variety, Branson has already been cooperating with interviews for the movie which centers around his autobiography which was published in 1998 and updated in 2005.

Who should play Branson in the movie? Whoever it is should be willing to recreate some of Branson's most infamous stunts and be equally comfortable in drag as riding in hot-air balloons. My choice, British actor Paul Bettany. He's got the look and the athleticism and I think he could capture Branson's brilliant wackiness. That's not Branson's choice though. In an interview recently when answering the question of who should play him in a movie of his life he choose "Twilight" star Robert Pattinson because "he's English ... and he's young!"

Branson meanwhile has entered the world of film production with his new company Virgin Produced. His first project is with McG, a "300-style" movie based on the voyages of Christopher Columbus.

Tags: richard branson, sir richard branson, virgin

Victoria's Secret Girls Invade Necker Island

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Apparel

When the new Victoria's Secret swim catalog shows up in your mailbox you may recognize the exotic locale - it was shot at Virgin mogul Richard Branson's Necker Island luxury retreat in the British Virgin Islands. Then again if you're not actually in the market for a bikini you may be transfixed by the bathing beauties, especially cover model Lindsay Ellingson (far left). Of the experience, the quintessential California girl avowed, "It's the most beautiful place I've ever been. We shot the cover in the evening during sunset. It was really a magical setting." Of course you can book your own stay at Necker Island, part of Virgin's Limited Edition collection of luxurious escapes, but don't expect a gaggle of half-naked supermodels to be permanently in residence.

Tags: beach, British Virgin Islands, BritishVirginIslands, catalog, Lindsay Ellingson, LindsayEllingson, model, Necker Island, NeckerIsland, Richard Branson, RichardBranson, swimsuit, Victorias Secret, VictoriasSecret, Virgin

Richard Branson's Luxe New Retreat Near NYC

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining, Luxury Travel & Hotels

Sir Richard Branson's plans for a luxe new retreat in New Jersey, which we first wrote about back in 2005, are finally coming to fruition. When completed the complex will consist of a culinary center, resort, spa and private club called Natirar 45 minutes from New York City. Situated on a beautiful 500-acre estate that was once the King of Morocco's summer home, and centered on a historic 40-room 1912 mansion (above), the first phase of the property is the just-opened Ninety Acres at Natirar Culinary Center, housing a restaurant, bar / lounge, cooking school, wine school and working farm. The resort will open this summer with guest cottages, a media room, a 4,000-square foot swimming pool, tennis courts, fitness facility, croquet pitch and greenhouses. Horseback riding and fly-fishing will be among the activities on offer. The invitation-only Club at Natirar will give members unfettered access to all the property's delights. The plan is for Natirar to eventually be the first U.S. outpost of Branson's Virgin Limited Edition Collection of luxury retreats.

[via JustLuxe]

Tags: club, historic houses, HistoricHouses, Morocco, Natirar, New Jersey, New York, NewJersey, NewYork, Richard Branson, RichardBranson, Virgin

Virgin Galactic and the 40th Anniversary of That Other Moonwalk

by Alison Wellner (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels, Lux Tips

The untimely death of Michael Jackson has adults of a certain generation remembering the days of the moonwalk craze. But for those with a few more candles to blow out on the birthday cake, the term "moonwalk" conjures up the name of a different iconic American entirely: Neil Armstrong.

The 40th anniversary of the first moonwalk is swiftly approaching: July 20, 2009. And although it's been long in the making, Virgin Galactic moves ever closer to making a space journey a reality for private citizens willing to spend $200,000. (A bargain, really, considering that arranging private space travel today costs about $20 million.) On May 28, 2009, Virgin Galactic announced the successful completion of the first phase of tests of the rocket motor that will propel space tourists up, up and away.

There are still more tests to go, but at this point, the plan is to start sending passengers into space as soon as late 2010. (Delays are very likely, so no need to go into an oxygen-free environment just yet -- don't hold your breath.) There's no moonwalking in the cards, but there is traveling at 3,000 miles an hour to 70 miles above the earth's surface, experiencing weightlessness and a view of more than 1,000 miles in all directions.

If you want to get to this before the been-there-done-that's set in -- at current tally, there are 300 people from 42 countries waiting for their turn -- it's worth signing up early. You can accomplish this exclusively through luxury travel pros Virtuoso, who are the first "Accredited Space Agents."

In fact, Virtuoso founder Matthew D. Upchurch is a candidate to be among the first to make the trip. Whether he's on the very first flight will be determined by a lottery -- he's got a 1 in 14 chance. But hey, the odds of reaching the moon at all forty years ago had to be longer than that.

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Tags: space, travel, virgin, virgin galactic, VirginGalactic

F1 Drivers Line Up for Virgin Galactic Space Flight

by Noah Joseph (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels, Wings

You'd figure that after winning grands prix and driving the fastest cars on the planet, an accomplished F1 driver would have had his fill of extreme Gs and rapid acceleration, but these are speed junkies, and they're always looking for a new adventure. That could be why two seasoned F1 pros are lining up, among the myriad celebrities and billionaires, to experience a low-orbit space flight with Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic.

Sponsoring the winning Brawn GP car at this past weekend's race in Bahrain, Virgin Galactic announced their two latest recruits: Rubens Barrichello and Niki Lauda. Barrichello, who is second in the standings for the F1 world championship this year, has already paid the $200,000 for his ticket on one of Virgin's space flights, which Branson delivered in person at the race. Three-time world champion Niki Lauda, however, is planning to take it even further by undertaking training, at age 60, to pilot the Virgin spacecraft and take other paying tourists up into space. Lauda already owns his own airline and sometimes pilots the flights himself, but even for the driver who's been to hell and back, this should be a new adventure altogether.

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Tags: branson, brawn gp, BrawnGp, f1, f1 drivers, F1Drivers, formula one, FormulaOne, lauda, niki lauda, NikiLauda, richard branson, RichardBranson, rubens barrichello, RubensBarrichello, virgin, virgin brawn, virgin galactic, VirginBrawn, VirginGalactic

Virgin America Debuts New "Red" Consoles

by Nicole Weston (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels

Virgin America, an airline that is part of the Virgin empire, has just introduced some new advertising-sponsored in-flight consoles as a way to keep costs down on the lower fare airline. With the ad-supported system, dubbed "Red", travelers can get access to in-cabin text messaging, movies on demand, satellite TV and a variety of games and audio channels. The system also "provides AC power and wireless connectivity for travelers with laptops," making Virgin America sound much more convenient for business travelers who might otherwise avoid "budget" airlines because they're difficult to work on.

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Tags: advertising, business, consoles, planes, travel, virgin, virgin america

Branson Plants His Flag At The World

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wings

Sir Richard Branson showed up in Dubai this week to ceremoniously plant the Union Jack on the Great Britain island at the The World development. The event was part of the debut of Virgin Atlantic Airways’ direct flights between the United Kingdom and Dubai. Branson jumped out of a red London telephone box dressed in a colorful Union Jack suit. Development company Nakheel also announced that 90 percent of the islands of The World have been created. While in Dubai, Branson also talked about his favorite subject, space, saying that he plans to make Virgin the world's first commercial spaceline and that they will be sending passengers into space in sub-orbital craft starting in late 2008.

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Tags: dubai, nakheel, sir richard branson, SirRichardBranson, space, the world, virgin, virgin airways

Global Flyer Lands, Breaks Record

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wings

Steve Fossett has touched down at Bournemouth Airport putting a successful end to the Ultimate Flight. Fossett, who broke the world record for the longest flight ever at 26.389.3 miles and a duration of 76 hours and 45 minutes. Fossett was supposed to land at Kent International Airport, but had to make an emergency landing when his generator failed. It was a rough landing, two tires burst and his windscreen was iced up but he is now on land and in need of a nap.

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Tags: air, flight, global flyer, GlobalFlyer, richard branson, steve fossett, virgin, wings, world record

The Global Flyer Takes Off

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wings

Although it was predicted that it might be a few days delayed, the Global Flyer took off this morning after all. Steve Fossett left NASA Kennedy Space Center at 7:22am and is currently zooming around the world. He has spent the day flying over the Atlantic and is currently approaching the African Coast. The takeoff was a bit bumpy as it took the aircraft a while to lift off and two birds hit the aircraft. All seems to be going well currently but weather patterns could cause a bit of a concern.

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Tags: flight, global flyer, GlobalFlyer, steve fossett, virgin, wings, world record

Global Flyer's Next Flight Confirmed

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wings

The GlobalFlyer is set to go again on the new mission to set a record for the longest non-stop flight of an airplane. The plane should take off from Kennedy Space Center tomorrow morning. The GlobalFlyer team has been given a code green status meaning weather conditions are expected to be good to go. The flight should launch tomorrow morning at 6:42 am. I wonder if Branson is lending Steve Fossett his Breitling for this flight too.

[via Aero-News Network]

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Tags: airplane, longest flight, LongestFlight, plane, richard branson, steve fossett, virgin, world record, world's record

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