Virgin Atlantic Airways

“Thank you PWE for all that you did to make our inaugural party a great success. Despite the short lead time, you succeeded in translating all the concepts into a memorable reality.”

— Caroline White (Marketing Manager, Virgin Atlantic Airways)

OBJECTIVE

PWE produced three large-scale events for Virgin Atlantic Airways over the course of almost a decade. We were charged with increasing brand awareness as well as announcing the inaugural flight from London to Chicago as only Sir Richard Branson would do.

 

OVERVIEW

In 1999, we helped Virgin CEO Sir Richard Branson host an event to celebrate the commissioning of the daily London-Chicago flight. The event featured the merging of London and Chicago cultural elements and was attended by Virgin Atlantic Airways execs, local dignitaries and passengers that arrived on the inaugural flight.

In 2007, we produced a day of dual-purpose events celebrating Virgin Atlantic Airways’ purchase of Boeing’s newest commercial aircraft, the 787 Dreamliner, as well as the reinstatement of the daily London-Chicago route. The day began with a press event for over 150 local, national and international media held in the Aviation Wing of Chicago’s Museum of Science & Industry. The program featured Sir Richard Branson and Boeing CEO James McNerney discussing the environmental efficiencies of the new aircraft & closed with a spectacular light and video production which was then raised to reveal a 25’x25’ full-scale mock-up of the 787 Dreamliner cabin.

That evening, guests were invited to celebrate at an exclusive cocktail reception featuring various amenities from a Virgin Atlantic flight through mock-ups of the Upper Class seating pods, in-flight massage chairs and oxygen bars. In another fusion of London & Chicago cultural elements, the 1,000+ guests were entertained by British recording star Heather Smalls, accompanied by the Chicago Praise Choir.