Branson dons heels, shaves legs to honour bet with Fernandes

Sir Richard Branson with Tan Sri Tony Fernandes

SEPANG: Virgin Group's Sir Richard Branson sportingly donnedAirAsia's iconic red stewardess outfit complete with make-up and a hairdo as he finally made good on a bet with Tan Sri Tony Fernandes.

The normally suave and manly Branson made quite an arresting sight in drag as he batted his false eyelashes and smiled at the crowd upon arriving at LCCT after serving as an air stewardess on a special AirAsia X charity flight from Perth, Australia Sunday morning. The billionaire entrepreneur also shaved his legs as promised but insisted on keeping his beard, which made a startling contrast to the lipstick he had slicked on.

Fernandes drenched with orange juice after Branson 'accidentally' spilled the tray.

Branson with his 'graduation' certificate.

However, Branson also made sure he got his revenge on Fernandes by purposely tipping a tray full of orange juice over the AirAsia boss.

"I looked at him and said 'don't you dare'. I wanted to kill him!" said Fernandes with a laugh.

He then told reporters he had to be in his underpants for a while as he did not bring a change of clothing, but that another flight member had kindly lent him a pair of shorts while his jeans were being dried.

He also promptly "fired" Branson upon landing, and gave him a certificate to recognise he had "graduated" as an AirAsia stewardess.

Branson on his part said he had huge respect for the "fabulous flight attendants" who performed their jobs everyday.

He spent the five-and-a-half hour flight pouring coffee or tea, serving meals, distributing goodies, entertaining as well as making in-flight announcements.

Branson and Fernandes had wagered on their respective Formula One teams finishing ahead of the other during their 2010 debut season in Abu Dhabi.

Tan Sri Tony Fernandes handing over the AirAsia uniform to Sir Richard Branson in Abu Dhabi on Nov 14, 2010 after the conclusion of the F1 race.

They agreed that the loser would serve as a female flight attendant on board the winner's airline. Bernama reported Fernandes has been dared into his own promise, announcing he would become one of Virgin Galactic's first commercial space tourists. "What he (Branson) doesn't realise is once I go into space, there'll be a low-cost version, AirAsia Galactica, about 10% of the price he's charging," he quipped.

Around RM600,000 (AUD$200,000) was raised for the charity flight which will go to the Starlight Children's Foundation in Australia. The foundation is dedicated to brightening the lives of seriously ill and hospitalised children and their families across the country.

-thestar online.