The airline and Virgin Holidays has teamed up with NYC & Company and the Alliance for Downtown New York for the special service to fly hundreds of Britons to New York for World Pride 2019.
It will be staffed entirely by LGBT+ pilots and cabin crew and will feature special on-board entertainment including a DJ, drag-queen bingo and a Judy Garland singalong.
There will also be inter-seat speed dating and a range of special in-flight entertainment.
World Pride 2019 will be the first to be held in the United States and will celebrate the 50th anniversary of New York City’s Stonewall Uprising, a pivotal moment in LGBTQ history.
Burgess, star of Unbreakable Kimmy Schmitt, said: “At a time when we’re seeing the rights of minority groups under threat, it is more important than ever we stand up and make our voices heard.
“The LGBT community has made enormous strides over the last 50 years, and I’m so proud to partner with Virgin Holidays and Virgin Atlantic to mark this occasion in style and celebrate the hard-won freedoms from those who came before us.”
Mark Anderson, global LGBT lead for Virgin Group and Virgin Atlantic executive vice-president, added: “We’re not the type of company to mark an occasion like this half-heartedly and we’re going to be pulling out all the stops to ensure the Pride Flight is delivered with a large serving of Virgin flair.
“We take our commitments to diversity and inclusion seriously, but you can rest assured we have a lot of fun along the way. This is going to be a show-stopping, groundbreaking, one-of-a-kind experience we can’t wait to bring to the skies next June.”
In 2016, Virgin Holidays launched a three-year plan to become one of the most inclusive companies in travel.
A portion of ticket sales from the flight will be donated to the Attitude Magazine Foundation to fund Pride initiatives in the UK. Other fundraising events will take place on-board.
The flight will depart Heathrow on June 28 flying director to New York Newark airport, with Virgin offering flexible returns.
Economy Light flight-only tickets start from £380pp, while three-night Virgin Holidays packages lead in from £699pp and range up to £1,369pp with a choice of more than 100 accommodation options.
