Virgin Atlantic has become the first airline to introduce double-beds on board its planes, giving rise to claims that it is tacitly encouraging couples to cuddle up and get intimate.
The move is the realisation of a dream of Virgin's owner Richard Branson, who wanted to give passengers a chance to get 'closer together' on long trips, The Sunday Times reported.
Critics, however, believe that Virgin is overstepping the boundaries of taste and decency and could end up angering more passengers than it pleases.
"This is unnecessary and unfortunate," Ann Widdecombe, former shadow home secretary, told the newspaper. "There is an immense issue of public decency here because there are other passengers who will not wish to see or hear such things."
According to the report, travellers can take advantage of the double-beds on three Boeing 747s that fly trans-Atlantic routes out of Heathrow.
The airline has fitted four double beds in the central section of its Upper Class suites. Normally they are adjacent seats divided by a partition. But at night, the partition can be removed, the seats converted into flat beds and the space in between filled with a mattress.
Prices start at around £2,000 per person on a return trip to New York and there are already rumours that Virgin is considering installing condom machines on its aircraft.
"We have a lot of honeymoon couples who fly on Virgin, and a lot of couples who have been together for many years. There is no reason why they shouldn't cuddle up on board like they would at home," Branson said.
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