Virgin Atlantic - New flying icons

For over thirty years, Virgin Atlantic has had a ‘flying lady’ icon on the front of its aircraft, based on the pin-up girls made famous in the 1930s and 1940s by Alberto Vargas (hence it’s often called the ‘Vargas Girl’ design).

In an announcement in early April, the airline announced that it would be replacing the Vargas Girl with a series of icons more representative of modern Britain. This includes a mix of genders, ethnicities as well as gay man with a rainbow design on his outfit.

Virgin Atlantic says that the new icons will appear on the four brand new Airbus A350- 1000 aircraft the airline is introducing this year, followed by a further eight aircraft by 2021.

This is part of a wider drive to promote equality and diversity at the airline. Virgin Atlantic has pledged to tackle its gender pay gap and increase diversity and inclusion across its business. The airline aims to have a 50:50 gender balance in leadership roles.

They’re also aiming for at least 12 percent black, Asian and minority ethnic group representation across the company by 2022.