Virgin Atlantic to diversify icons after 35 years of Varga Girl

Virgin Atlantic is to replace the traditional flying woman painted on its planes with new figureheads including a black man, an Asian woman and a gay man in rainbow lycra. The airline will ditch the Varga Girl that has adorned its fleet for the last 35 years in favour of a more diverse set of icons. The flying woman, wearing a red dress that unpeels into a Union flag, was inspired by the second world war pin-ups of Alberto Vargas, later a Playboy illustrator. She will start to give way to a total of five new characters, including two more securely dressed women, when new planes arrive. Virgin said the new icons represented its ambition for gender and diversity balance in the workplace, and support for people of all sexualities. The icons will be unveiled as the airline adds new long-haul A350 planes to its fleet from this summer.<br/>