Virgin Atlantic’s Charity Event at The Ivy, Sydney

• Tweet
  
  
• 
  
  
• 
  
  

You’re airlines either got it or it hasn’t…

Virgin Atlantic introduced their “You’re airlines either got it or it hasn’t” message to Sydney’s travel elite last night as part of a charity event to raise funds for the victims of the Queensland floods.

In typical Virgin fashion, The Ivy floor staff were dressed in Atlantic uniforms – with some of the girls braving high heeled shoes and bright red lipstick for the occasion. Bar staff were serving a newly created Atlantic Upper Class cocktail – and the bar itself was decked out with oversized red cocktails, red shoes and big screen TV’s showcasing everything Atlantic.

After playing the ‘Your airline’s either got it or it hasn’t‘ TV commercial (below), guests were directed to an adjacent building where Virgin Atlantic girls gave a live performance through the looking glass.

A Live Performance by Virgin Atlantic Flight Attendants

So far, the Virgin group of companies has raised $1.7 million with money managed via the Virgin not for profit arm, Virgin Unite.

The audio below is a poor quality recording of Luke Fisher (Australian General Manager) and Paul Dickinson (Director of Sales and Marketing) speaking early on in the evening.

Interestingly, and not surprisingly, Dickinson says that Australia is Atlantic’s biggest market outside of the UK and America (with brand recognition second only to the UK). One does have to wonder if the significant national presence of Virgin has heightened the brand’s name and reputation in a positive way… or whether the airline struggles to maintain a full-service profile when the Virgin Blue brand is generally known as a Low(er) Cost Carrier. Some interesting conversations were had, but nobody was prepared to comment.

Given that Atlantics presence in Australia is really nothing more than a 340 service to Hong Kong, it begs the question of what damage might be done by a local Virgin brand entering the market (particularly since Virgin Blue will soon operate a fleet of A330′s).

1. Welcome Virgin Australia – Pictures
2. New Virgin Blue TV campaign: Where Great Ideas Fly’
3. First look at Virgin Australia’s new Print Campaign
4. Will Virgin Blue re-brand as Virgin Australia?
5. Virgin Blue Unveils its New Look
6. V Australia – more pics and new TV campaign
7. Virgin Blue and Air New Zealand Alliance