Virgin America Announces Colorado Premiere Of 'BLAH AIRLINES' Film At Vail Film Festival

Virgin America Announces Colorado Premiere Of 'BLAH AIRLINES' Film At Vail Film Festival

Fresh Off the Launch of Virgin America's New Service from San Francisco to Denver, the Entertainment Fan's Airline of Choice Heads Up to the Mountains for the 13th Annual Vail Festival

Festival-Goers Who Endure the Entire Nearly 6 Hour Film Score Elevate® Points Good for a Virgin America Flight*

SAN FRANCISCO, March 28, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Virgin America, the upscale, low-fare airline today announces the Colorado premiere of the airline's critically acclaimed "BLAH AIRLINES FLIGHT 101," at the 13(th) annual Vail Film Festival. The five hour and forty-five minute film is set onboard a BLAH Airlines flight - the boring, beige and dull antithesis of the innovative and stylish experience guests enjoy when flying Virgin America. The award-winning film is a surrealistic and humorous take on the grim reality of commercial air travel today - one that is characterized by cramped seats, harsh lighting and a lack of entertainment and meal options. A film that was called "brilliant" and "warholian" by AdWeek and "genius" by Travel + Leisure, BLAH AIRLINES FLIGHT 101 has garnered nearly one million views on YouTube, was shortlisted in the 2015 Cannes Lions awards and is a winner in the 2016 Shorty Awards which honors the best content creators and producers on social media. In partnership with the Vail Film Festival, the airline is inviting local flyers, Elevate frequent flyer program members and social followers to join the screening of BLAH AIRLINES FLIGHT 101 on Friday, April 8, 2016. Any festival-goer who makes it through the entire 5 hour and 45 minute film screening will score 5,000 Elevate points* - or the equivalent of a reward flight - so they can avoid flying "blah" on their next trip. The film will be screened on Friday, April 8, 2016 as part of the official Vail Film Festival Line-Up and the trailer can be viewed in advance here.

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Earlier this month, Virgin America touched down in Colorado when it launched its stylish new flights connecting the booming tech hubs of San Francisco and Denver. As Silicon Valley's airline of choice, Virgin America is uniquely suited to serve this new market thanks to its host of innovative features, including power outlets and touch-screen entertainment available at every seat and three beautifully designed "mood-lit" classes of service offered on every flight. The airline remains the first and still only U.S. carrier to offer WiFi on every flight(1). As the Official Airline Partner of the Vail Film Festival, Virgin America is building on its commitment to the state of Colorado following the opening of its new customer contact center in the Denver area, as well as its pledge of $25,000 in flights to KIPP Colorado (Knowledge is Power Program) for KIPP Denver high school students to visit colleges this year.

"With the launch of our newest market in Denver and the unmatched entertainment experience onboard our flights, we're thrilled to be the Official Airline of the Vail Film Festival - and to support the broader film community," said Virgin America's Chief Marketing Officer, Luanne Calvert. "Vail provides an absolutely stunning backdrop for the Colorado premiere of BLAH AIRLINES FLIGHT 101 and we're looking forward to seeing who makes it through the entire 5 hours and 45 minutes screening - which begs the question, if you wouldn't sit through the entire film, why would you pay money to experience it in real-life on a flight?"

The airline has also launched a social media contest where one lucky winner and their guest will score a round trip flight on Virgin America to Denver, two all-access festival passes that include invites to all festival parties, screenings (including BLAH AIRLINES FLIGHT 101) and hospitality lounge, a three night stay at The Lodge at Vail, A RockResort and transportation provided by Silvercar. For full details and to enter, click here.

"With more than 67 films, 11 world premieres, 2 U.S. premieres and 28 Colorado premieres - including Virgin America's avant-garde BLAH AIRLINES FLIGHT 101 - the 2016 Vail Film Festival is shaping up to be one of the best yet," said Sean Cross of the Vail Film Festival. "We're excited to welcome Virgin America as the Official Airline of the 13(th) annual Vail Film Festival. With their award winning experience and low fares, Virgin America is the antidote to the typical 'blah' airline experience and the perfect way for our guests traveling to Vail to kickoff their festival experience."

Virgin America is the entertainment fan's airline of choice with entertainment content that is refreshed regularly and a movie menu that ranges from foreign-language films to Hollywood blockbusters. The airline's Red(®) entertainment system offers guests in every cabin their own seatback touch-screen, with dozens of latest release films, live TV, interactive maps, videogames, a 3,000 song library and an on-demand menu, which allows flyers to order from their seatback any time during a flight. And with the recent launch of the airline's next generation Red Beta in-flight entertainment platform, guests can now experience a system with capacitive touch monitors, retro games like Asteroids and Pac-Man, a 3D sound experience on select content and increased storage capacity for expanded content - including multiple seasons of travelers' favorite shows. The airline also recently debuted a new technology partnership with satellite-based WiFi provider, ViaSat, to bring significantly faster WiFi connectivity for higher-quality video streaming on the airline's 10 new Airbus A320 aircraft. Onboard Virgin America's new ViaSat WiFi-equipped aircraft, both new and existing Netflix members will be able to stream the best programming available in the skies - including the hit series House of Cards and Orange Is The New Black - to their phones, tablets, and laptops.

Launched in 2007, Virgin America has been named both the "Best Domestic Airline" in Travel + Leisure's Annual World's Best Awards and "Best U.S. Airline" in Condé Nast Traveler's Readers' Choice Awards for the past eight consecutive years. In addition to its exclusive First Class cabin with plush white leather seating and lumbar massagers on every flight, Virgin America offers a Main Cabin with custom leather seating with a deeper, more comfortable pitch, and Main Cabin Select service with 38-inches of pitch, free food and cocktails, an all-access pass to media, dedicated overhead bins and priority check-in/boarding.

The airline continues to expand its network across the country with flights to Austin, Boston, Cancun, Chicago, Dallas Love Field, Denver, Fort Lauderdale, Honolulu, Kahului-Maui, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Los Cabos, Newark, New York (JFK and LGA), Orlando, Palm Springs, Portland, Puerto Vallarta, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle and Washington D.C. (IAD and DCA).

The full five hour and forty-five minute BLAH AIRLINES FLIGHT 101 film can be viewed here.

Photos and broadcast quality b-roll of Virgin America's unique aircraft can be found here.

About Virgin America: Known for its mood-lit cabins, three beautifully designed classes of service and innovative fleetwide amenities -- like touch-screen personal entertainment, WiFi and power outlets at every seat, Virgin America has earned a host of awards since launching in 2007 -- including being named both the "Best U.S. Airline" in Condé Nast Traveler's Readers' Choice Awards and "Best Domestic Airline" in Travel + Leisure's World's Best Awards for the past eight consecutive years. For more: www.virginamerica.com

About Vail Film Festival: The 13th Annual Vail Film Festival, founded by Scott Cross and Sean Cross, will take place April 7-10, 2016 in Vail, Colorado. Festival activities include film screenings, panel discussions, live music, nightly galas, and the filmmaker reception. The Colorado Film Institute is proud to stage the Vail Film Festival, a four-day event that enlightens and entertains thousands of film festival attendees and offers a creative outlet to the film world's newest storytellers and innovators. The Colorado Film Institute is a 501(c)3 nonprofit arts organization dedicated to fostering independent cinema.

(1)WiFi available on Hawaii flights as of mid-2016

*Terms and Conditions for Elevate Points Offer: The bearer of the voucher will receive 5,000 Elevate reward points. Non-Elevate members will need to join the Elevate program in order to receive this prize. Limit 1 prize per guest, per Elevate account. Please allow 4 to 6 weeks for points to be post to your Elevate account. Reward points earned through this prize do not qualify towards Elevate Gold or Elevate Silver Status. Voucher expires June 8, 2016. You are responsible for providing your email associated to your Elevate Program Membership in order to earn 5,000 Elevate reward points.

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SOURCE Virgin America

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Virgin America

CONTACT: Virgin America Media Contact: Sean Harris/ 650-554-1971/ sean.harris@virginamerica.com; or Vail Film Festival Media Contact: Caramie Petrowsky/ 970-306-6843/ press@vailfilmfestival.org

Web Site: http://www.virginamerica.com


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