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The San Francisco Giants and Virgin America have signed a multi-year partnership extension, which maintains the Bay Area-based airline’s position as the “Official Airline of the San Francisco Giants” through the end of 2018.
The trophy will fly in style, riding in Virgin America’s exclusive eight-seat First Class cabin from San Francisco International Airport (SFO) to John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) onboard the Virgin America Airbus A320 aircraft “Fly Bye Baby,” named in honor of the hometown team. Onboard the flight, Giants President and CEO Larry Baer will invite fellow Virgin America guests to grab photos with the trophy and will host a live Twitter chat at 35,000 feet using the airline’s inflight WiFi. Guests and fans alike are encouraged to follow along and submit questions using the hashtags #sfgtrophy and #flytogether.
The extended partnership includes unique co-branding elements at AT&T Park, including the “Virgin America Loft,” a premium customized suite located in right field above McCovey Cove, and the “Virgin America Club Level” that features the airline’s signature cabin mood-lighting. In 2012, the airline first unveiled its Giants themed “Fly Bye Baby” aircraft that was updated in 2014 with a crowdsourced #FlyTogether design populated with the photos of hundreds of Giants fan who submitted photos on Instagram and Twitter. Today at SFO, Virgin America unveiled the aircraft’s newest design – the 2014 World Championship mark – in celebration of the San Francisco Giant’s latest World Series Victory.
“As the only airline headquartered in the Bay Area we, alongside all our flyers, had the opportunity to cheer on our hometown champions as they earned their third World Championship in five years,” said Luanne Calvert, Chief Marketing Officer of Virgin America. “We are thrilled to extend this partnership and look forward to many more years of success for the team. We can’t think of a better way to celebrate than kicking-off the East Coast leg of the Trophy Tour in style onboard Virgin America.”
Once in the Big Apple, the trophy will be available to Giants fans that have followed the team for generations – a history that dates back to when the team was based in New York before moving to San Francisco in 1958. A public viewing of the trophy will be held on Saturday, January 24 from 2:00 to 6:00 p.m. at Finnerty’s Bar in Manhattan.
“We are delighted to extend this dynamic and creative partnership with Virgin America – a partnership that we’ve cultivated since 2008,” said Larry Baer, President and CEO of the San Francisco Giants. “We love the synergies that exist between our two organizations and are excited to bring the look and feel of Virgin America’s unique planes to AT&T Park and to create a Giants presence onboard the airline’s flights so fans never have to miss a minute of the game thanks to live television at 35,000 feet.”
In addition to a Main Cabin that offers custom-designed leather seating with a deeper, more comfortable pitch, the airline’s First Class cabin offers plush white leather seating with 55 inches of pitch, 165 degrees of recline and lumbar massagers. The carrier’s Main Cabin Select service offers 38-inches of pitch, free food and cocktails, an all-access pass to media content, dedicated overhead bins and priority check-in/boarding. The Red® in-flight entertainment platform offers guests their own seatback touch-screen TV, with more than 20 films, live TV, Google Maps, videogames, a 3,000 song library and an on-demand menu, which allows flyers to order a cocktail or snack from their seatback any time during a flight. Virgin America’s airport lounge – The Loft – is located at LAX and its Elevate frequent flyer program offers no black-outs or restrictions on rewards seats with three levels of status including Elevate Gold and Elevate Silver.
The airline continues to expand its network across the country with flights to Austin, Boston, Cancun, Chicago, Dallas Love Field, Fort Lauderdale, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Los Cabos, Newark, New York (JFK and LGA), Orlando, Palm Springs (seasonal), Portland, Puerto Vallarta, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle and Washington D.C. (IAD and DCA).
