24 January 2023 , 12:40
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Virgin Atlantic is naming their newest plane in honour of Queen Elizabeth II, four months after the death of the monarch.
The airline’s latest aircraft, an Airbus A330neo, will be named ‘Queen of the Skies' and will use the registration G-VEII.
The aircraft is set to enter service in April this year, flying from London Heathrow to destinations including Miami, New York and Tampa.
The move marks the second time the Queen of the Skies moniker has been used on a Virgin Atlantic aircraft.
Back in 2004, her late majesty unveiled an Airbus A340-600 with the same name at a ceremony in Toulouse as part of a state visit to France to celebrate the centenary of the Entente Cordiale.
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Corneel Koster, chief customer and operations officer at Virgin Atlantic, said: “Just like Queen Elizabeth during her historic 70-year reign, Virgin Atlantic is proud to fly the flag for the United Kingdom around the world.
The plane's registration is G-VEII (Virgin Atlantic)" We’re delighted to soon be welcoming ‘Queen of the Skies’ to our fleet and hope that it serves as a fitting tribute to an unforgettable, much-loved monarch.”
Virgin Atlantic has a history of naming its planes after famous women, including ‘Diana’ in tribute to Princess Diana.
Accompanying ‘Queen of the Skies’ in Virgin Atlantic’s current fleet include ‘Lady Emmeline’, which pays homage to the founder of the Suffragette movement and women’s rights activist, Emmeline Pankhurst.
‘Fearless Lady’ celebrates the life of the mother of the airline’s founder, Eve Branson.
Eve led a colourful life which included enlisting in the WRENS during World War II, taking gliding lessons disguised as a boy and working as a pioneering air hostess on the treacherous British South American Airways routes.
In 2019, Virgin Atlantic announced it had ordered up to 16 Airbus A330neo planes, which consumes on average 25% less fuel compared to previous generation aircraft.
Virgin Atlantic has a number of aircraft named after impressive women (Daily Mirror/Andy Stenning)The airline currently operates three other A330neos, named Billie Holiday, Space Oddity and Eliza Doolittle.
The Queen is undoubtedly one of the people with the most things and places named after her in world history.
Around 437,000 square kilometres of British Antarctic Territory was named Queen Elizabeth Land after the monarch to mark her Diamond Jubilee in 2012.
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The triangular segment is nearly twice the size of Britain and stretches from the South Pole to the Ronne Ice Shelf on the Weddell Sea.
She was also honoured with the naming of Queen Elizabeth National Park in Uganda, which is known for its lions, hippopotamuses, elephants, crocodiles and leopards.
The monarch also had a hospital in Hong Kong, an Olympic park in east London and a quay in Perth, Australia named after her.