Sir Richard Branson has offered to pay for a "dream holiday" to Las Vegas for a group of friends who were removed from a flight to Majorca due to wearing T-shirts that were deemed inappropriate by the airline. Bride-to-be Emma Green said her hen party had been ruined after they weren't permitted to travel on their booked flight, but has had a reversal of fortune after the Virgin boss heard her story.
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The entrepreneur has offered the group free flights from London Gatwick to Las Vegas as well as a three-night stay at the Tropicana hotel. Richard said he was shocked that the group had been ejected from the flight and said that the story reminded him of a 1977 obscenity case when a Virgin employee was arrested after displaying The Sex Pistols single Never Mind The B******s in his shop window, after ignoring warnings to cover up the title.
Sir Richard Branson is paying for the hen party to go to Las Vegas
"When we released The Sex Pistols classic record, we were arrested over its colourful title," Sir Richard said. "We want to help these ladies 40 years on enjoy their hen do after they were kicked off their flight over a word on their T-shirts. Virgin Holidays has been welcoming hen parties since 1985 and we hope all 18 of these ladies have a brilliant time painting the town red in one of my favourite cities."
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The 66-year-old has said that the group can take him up on the offer of the trip any time until the end of the year. David Geer, managing director of Virgin Holidays, added: "We like to have a bit of fun at Virgin and are renowned for having a good sense of humour. While we appreciate some people might have found the T-shirts mildly offensive, we see the lighter side of the situation.
Richard said he hopes the group has a "brilliant time" on the holiday
"We hope the girls have a great time in Las Vegas – it really is the ultimate destination for hen parties and stag dos alike." Unsurprisingly the generous gesture was well received by bride-to-be Emma, who told The Sun: "I just can't believe it. I have cried tears of joy since finding out. We were all just speechless. I've gone from having the worst hen do ever to what will surely end up being the best I could have ever imagined. I can't thank Sir Richard enough, he's a legend. I can finally have the hen party I've been dreaming of."