With Manchester Pride’s biggest ever festival just days away, long-standing Pride partner Thomas Cook Airlines’ ‘Fly with Pride’ flight to San Francisco took off from Manchester Airport with an all-LGBT crew and has touched down in the Golden Gate City overnight, following a celebration at the Northern hub.
The celebrations started when a Metrolink rainbow tram arrived at the Airport Station with Thomas Cook Airlines’ crew, pilots, customers and House of Suarez, who led a vibrant parade through to check-in. At the gate, customers kicked off their holiday to San Francisco in style with a colourful Pride party, a Gaydio DJ set and further performances from House of Suarez.
The Fly with Pride A330 aircraft was emblazoned with the Pride heart, one of five Thomas Cook Airlines aircraft specially painted this year, each representing a decade since the Stonewall riots and one for each of the five years that the airline has supported the Manchester Pride Festival. The crew also wore a special uniform for the flight.
Thomas Cook Airlines has long supported diversity and inclusion among its colleagues and customers and actively recruits diverse talent and skills in its Manchester headquarters. Christoph Debus, CEO of Thomas Cook Airlines said: “Diversity is in our DNA. We fly our customers all over the world and we don’t just want to get them from A to B. We want to connect people regardless of their sexuality, gender or race. We believe in a future where everyone can be who they want to be and travel the world while doing so.”
“This flight is not a one-off. It is a celebration for our colleagues and our customers and a symbol of every single one of our flights throughout the year. We carefully selected San Francisco as one of the largest and most prominent LGBT people in the world and is one of our key US destinations from Manchester Airport,” he added.
Mark Fletcher, CEO of Manchester Pride said, “This Pride flight is a symbol of many years of support for both Manchester Pride and LGBT+ people everywhere. We have partnered with them again this year as sponsor of the Gay Village Party at the heart of Manchester Pride Festival.”
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