With his typical aplomb, Sir Richard Branson walked on the wing of a Virgin Atlantic Airways 747-400 at Miami International Airport on June 15 to celebrate his airline’s 25 years of flying from London to Miami. Though the skies over Miami were dark and threatening, Branson stood on the wing with British pop singer Sarah Harding, at times picking up the singer and carrying her on the wing. Two Virgin Atlantic flight attendants, dressed in signature red uniforms, then came out on the wing carrying U.S. and British flags.

The launch of Miami-London service in 1986 signaled the beginning of Virgin Atlantic’s growth outside of the New York market. It was the second major destination for the budding airline. Since then, Virgin Atlantic has carried 4.5 million passengers to Miami and $7.4 billion has been contributed to the city’s economy.

“This is a fantastic milestone in Virgin Atlantic’s history,” Branson said. “Miami was the second route Virgin Atlantic launched two years after the airline began and to think that we are now a world-class airline with 32 long-haul destinations is a dream come true. Miami is a key route for Virgin Atlantic -- with many business travelers commuting on the route each year and holiday makers jetting out to enjoy Miami and its many beautiful beaches. Our promise to our passengers when we launched the route was to offer a fantastic quality of service and innovation onboard at great value and I believe that we continue to fulfill that promise 25 years later.”

Since Virgin Atlantic’s inaugural flight in 1986, the airline’s fleet has flown a total of 67 million miles to and from Miami and served clientele with over 5 million of their signature meals and ice cream. According to Virgin Atlantic, passengers who have traveled in Upper Class and Premium Economy have enjoyed 165,000 bottles of champagne, which equates to 990,000 glasses served since launch with possibly the millionth glass being served on the flight that arrived on June 15.

Flight VS005 is operated daily by an A340-600 from London Heathrow. For this anniversary event, however, Virgin Atlantic rolled out a 747-400 (the first flight to Miami was also on a 747). The regular flight departs Heathrow at 11:50 a.m., arriving at Miami at 4:20 p.m. Return flights depart Miami at 8:45 p.m. and arrive the following day at London Heathrow at 10:25 a.m. For more information, visit www.virginatlantic.com, www.twitter.com/virginatlantic, www.facebook.com/virginatlantic or www.youtube.com/thisisvirginatlantic.