If you’ve ever had the pleasure or the luck to be bumped up to first class, you’ll appreciate why people pay so much for it. From the over-the-top service to the free pyjamas the cabin crew lay out for you on an overnight flight, flying first class is so amazing, you’ll never want to get off the plane even if you usually dread airborne journeys.
But, not content with providing impeccable service, a bar area and possibly the best in-flight entertainment service on the market, Virgin Airlines are now offering the crème de la crème of their passengers the chance to buy expensive art instead of the usual duty-free with the launch of their airborne gallery next month.
For the whole of February, Upper Class customers can view and buy one-off paintings by British Graffiti artist Ben Eine as they fly.
See some art as you sip on a (free!) drink
Eine’s colourful artwork can be seen in many cities across the globe and his most famous works include ‘Alphabet Street’ in London – a street in Spitalfields where he has spray painted the letters A-Z on shop shutters – and a piece entitled TWENTYFIRSTCENTURYCITY that David Cameron gave to Barack Obama as a gift in 2010.
The airborne artwork – 10 pieces in total – are priced between €2,975 (£2,500) and €17,850 (£15,000) and have all been crafted especially for Richard Branson’s gallery in the air.
So why would a London graffiti artist want to associate himself with the corporate world of aviation?
Speaking to Stylist magazine, Eine explained “My philosophy through all my work, be it on canvas or on the street, is about pushing boundaries and not simply going with the flow because everyone else is doing something a certain way.
One of David’s especially commissioned pieces entitled ‘MANANDHISMACHINES’
“I respect Virgin Atlantic’s brave and challenging attitude and the way it goes against the grain, so I jumped at the chance to be part of the first ever Gallery in the Air. We have created a completely original way of appreciating and buying art – a new frontier for the industry.”
But what if you the plane you’re scheduled to fly on doesn’t turn out to be the one featuring Eine’s work? Passengers can get a feel for the unconventional artist’s creations in the Virgin London Heathrow Clubhouse where a not-for-sale portrait of the Virgin founder proudly hangs.
Innovative or just another way to make money off rich inebriated people travelling in first class? We haven’t decided yet…
