Virgin Atlantic Gets Youngest Apprentice

Virgin Atlantic has recruited the youngest ever air apprentice, Billy Yeomans, 10, from Chichester to test and approve the airline’s newly refurbished 747 fleet after winning a nationwide search to find the next Sir Richard Branson.

The pint-sized primary school pupil was chosen from over 600 applicants to become the airline’s first Junior Approvals Manager in an initiative spearheaded by the airline’s boss.

Billy, a plane crazy, aviation and adventure enthusiast wowed judges by creating his own plane cabin in his family home, collecting  over 30 aeroplane  safety cards and navigating his dad on a flight to Switzerland.

According to Virgin Atlantic, Billy had free reign of plane, which was fresh from a 95,000-hour refit, for a day at Gatwick Airport and will submit a full report to Sir Richard giving his verdict on the newly refitted 747 fleet. Whilst on board, Billy was given exclusive access to in-flight entertainment system, after dipping into some movies and then settling on playing a game he described as brilliant.

Billy then taste-tested a new 747 menu, which was being launched along with the refitted cabins and was served by the glamorous virgin Atlantic cabin crew throughout.

He finished the day with a hands-on test of the re-designed seats, which Virgin Atlantic believed to be the comfiest ever on board a 747.

Once the ten-year-old’s report has been approved, the planes will go on to take over 650 flights a year, carrying over half a million children to destinations including the Carribean and the United States of America.

Billy will now give a kid’s eye view on future on-board improvements and will be a sounding  board for child-focused developments undertaken by the airline.

According to the airline’s boss, Richard Branson, “as a child, I was mad about planes and the sense of adventure and excitement of being in the sky. We wanted to find someone who feels the same way as I still do about flying. Billy was the perfect young man for the job and he is going to be giving our newly refitted 747s the once over; watching films, eating our food and rating our wonderful cabin CREW. Hopefully, he’ll have great fun doing it too.”