Virgin Atlantic, one of the world’s leading airlines has officially been named a CoolBrand in an influential annual initiative to identify the UK’s coolest brands. Sir Richard Branson’s airline was voted 8th and is the only airline and travel brand to make the top 20 of this year's aspirational list. The CoolBrands list, now in its eleventh year, follows a vote by a combination of just under 3,000 consumers and a panel of 39 designers, style experts, media personalities and prominent figures from the worlds of TV, fashion and music. Helping rate coolness this year were the likes of Radio 1 DJ, Gemma Cairney, fashion blogger, Susie Bubble, hip-hop duo, Rizzle Kicks, celebrity chef, Gizzi Erskine, and musician, actor and director, Plan B. Simon Lloyd, Director of Marketing for Virgin Atlantic commented: “We are delighted to be recognised as one of the UK’s coolest brands and to be the only travel company named in this list is such an honour. Virgin Atlantic is always looking to innovate in order to stand out from the crowd this year alone we have redesigned our Upper Class cabin with a new seat and new bar, opened a new Clubhouse in New York JFK, and launched two new routes to Cancun and Vancouver. Before the year is out we will be opening a new Clubhouse in Newark and also adding a new service to Mumbai.” Co-ordinated by The Centre for Brand Analysis, the prestigious CoolBrands list was drawn from over 10,000 independently identified brands and whittled down into a shortlist of 1,200. The panel of 39 influencers then scored each brand, bearing in mind factors such as style, innovation, originality, authenticity, desirability and uniqueness, before just under 3,000 members of the British public gave their ratings. The views of both the panel and consumers were combined to produce a list of the brands most highly rated by both council and consumers. Virgin Atlantic beat tough competition to take its place in the prestigious list. Stephen Cheliotis, Chairman of the CoolBrands Expert Council, said: “Even in a recession a desirable reputation is vital, so being seen by opinion formers and the British public as a stylish attractive brand is not only a great compliment but an indicator of success. Competition was fiercer than ever so achieving CoolBrands status is something Virgin Atlantic can be truly proud of.”