Virgin Atlantic Launches Sleep by Headspace Content In-flight to Help Passengers and Crew Get Some Rest While Traveling

Sleep by Headspace Aids Passengers, Pilots, Crew and Staff In Managing Jet Lag and Travel Stress

SANTA MONICA, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Headspace, one of the world’s leading mindfulness brands, together with their longest airline partner, Virgin Atlantic, today announced the launch of Sleep by Headspace offered on-board to the airline’s passengers, pilots, crew and staff as they manage work, travel, stress and jet lag.

Sleep by Headspace launched worldwide in September 2018 and is specifically tailored to create the ideal conditions for a healthy, restful sleep. The Headspace Sleep team developed the new collection based on prototypes tested with real users, as well as a careful review of existing clinical research. The Sleepcasts are narrated by soothing, unique voices who guide the listener through each dreamy environment.

Headspace has been part of the Virgin Atlantic family since 2011, when the airline first launched guided meditation content as part of their inflight entertainment program, to help passengers manage travel-related stress while on-board. Now, Virgin Atlantic will also offer six of Headspace’s most popular Sleepcasts, Sleep Sounds and Wind Downs to help passengers get some rest while in-flight.

To celebrate the availability of this new sleep content, Headspace and Virgin Atlantic have created co-branded testimonial videos featuring the airline’s crew and pilots sharing their personal experiences of how they’ve experienced real-life benefits while on the job traveling overnight and through multiple time zones each week. The new video testimonial will be featured in-flight starting in July during the height of summer travel.

All of Virgin Atlantic’s pilots and cabin crew have required crew rest during their flights. Many of our crew choose to partake in meditation, or sleepcasts, to help them get the most out of this time. According to a recent employee survey, of the Virgin Atlantic employees who participated in a Headspace for Work program, over eighty percent of employees meditate a few times per week, with more than fifty percent reporting that they felt happier, more focused and more productive after meditating with Headspace.

“We are thrilled to expand our partnership with Virgin Atlantic to address one of the most crucial roles in employee wellbeing and productivity: sleep,” said Dan Kessler, VP of Global Business Development at Headspace. “We have already seen positive results such as an increase in focus and productivity by providing Headspace to the Virgin Atlantic pilots, crew and staff as they manage workplace stress and jet lag. We’re excited to provide Sleep and other Headspace mindfulness content to passengers as they go through the heavy summer travel season.”

“Virgin Atlantic is excited to continue our partnership with Headspace and lead the industry in mental health awareness efforts,” said Rebecca Creer, Spas and Styling Manager-Customer. “We started using Headspace on-board our aircrafts over seven years ago as we recognized the need and importance of this type of content, but since then the world has gotten busier and noisier. Caring for our customers and staff is always priority, and thanks to Sleep by Headspace we can now provide yet another tool to make their flights easier and help our customers feel less anxious and get better sleep in a simple and effective way.”

About Headspace:

Headspace was created with one mission in mind: to improve the health and happiness of the world. To help us achieve our mission, we aim to inspire, guide and support our members every step of their meditation and mindfulness journey, reaching over 54 million users in 190 countries. Headspace is one of the leading players in the meditation category committed to advancing the field of mindfulness meditation through clinically-validated research. The company also operates a B2B business to offer its meditation products and services to more than 350 companies, such as LinkedIn, to help them build healthier, more productive cultures and higher-performing organizations. Headspace’s partnerships team has forged robust relationships with many of the world’s most recognizable brands, including Apple, Amazon, Google, Nike, NBA and more. In 2018, Headspace was featured as part of Apple’s #Bestof2018: trends of the year on the AppStore. Headspace was also named one of Amazon Alexa’s best health and wellness skills of 2018. Headspace was also selected for five Webby Awards in the health and fitness categories between 2018 and 2019. For more information please visit us at www.headspace.com, or follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

About Virgin Atlantic

Virgin Atlantic was founded by entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson 35 years ago with innovation and customer service at its core. Today Virgin Atlantic carries 5.4 million customers annually, and was recently voted Britain’s only Global Five Star Airline by APEX two years running in the Official Airline Ratings. Headquartered in London, Virgin Atlantic employs over 10,000 people worldwide and operates a fleet of 46 aircraft serving 27 destinations across four continents. Alongside joint venture partner Delta Air Lines they operate a leading transatlantic network – offering up to 38 flights per day between the UK and US with onward connections to over 200 US and international cities. In summer 2019 Virgin Atlantic will take delivery of their first Airbus A350-1000 aircraft – helping to transform the fleet into one of the quietest and most fuel efficient in the sky. Virgin Atlantic recently achieved the highest sustainability ranking of any airline globally with an A- Leadership rating in the 2018 Carbon Disclosure Project performance assessment.

On May 15, 2018 Air France-KLM, Delta Air Lines and Virgin Atlantic Limited signed definitive agreements to combine the existing trans-Atlantic joint ventures. This transaction is in the process of regulatory clearance. Upon completion the airlines’ expanded joint venture will become the preferred choice for customers travelling across the Atlantic offering the most comprehensive route network, convenient flight schedules, competitive fares and reciprocal frequent flyer benefits, including the ability to earn and redeem miles across all carriers. Customers will also benefit from the co-location of facilities at key hub airports to improve connectivity and access to each carrier’s airport lounges for premium passengers.

In February 2019 Virgin Atlantic acquired Flybe and Stobart Air, as part of a consortium with Stobart Group and Cyrus Capital Partners. Flybe is Europe’s largest regional airline, flying 8.5 million passengers each year to 170 destinations, connecting customers around the UK regions to Virgin Atlantic hubs in Manchester and London Heathrow and beyond. Stobart Air is a profitable franchise operation based in Dublin and includes Propius, an aircraft leasing business.

For more information visit: www.virginatlantic.com or via Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @virginatlantic

Contacts

Headspace PR:

Estela Weinmann

estela.weinmann@headspace.com

Virgin Atlantic PR:

Caitlan Fowler

caitlan.fowler@fly.virgin.com