No more girl twirls at Virgin

Richard Branson, the billionaire owner of Virgin Atlantic, will no longer be “turning girls upside down” on his airplanes.

The 72-year-old British tycoon said this week he is putting an end to his famous promotional stunt of holding scantily clad women in acrobatic positions on the wings of his planes, an act that has starred such models as Pamela Anderson, Kate Moss and Dita Von Teese.

“There’s no question that in the early days of Virgin, society was very different,” Branson said. “I doubt you’ll see me turning girls upside down or picking up ladies today, whereas 38 years ago if I didn’t do that, I wouldn’t get in a newspaper.”

Branson (right) emphasized that he still physically could perform his acrobatic stunts of old if he wanted to, but won’t for the sake of good taste.

Branson made the comments following his arrival at Tampa International Airport on Wednesday to promote his airline’s new nonstop flights from Tampa to London Heathrow. He was seen sporting a Tampa Bay Buccaneers NFL jersey as he departed his plane onto the Tampa tarmac, with both male and female flight attendants by his side.

As part of his promotional festivities, he Jet Skied across the city’s bay.