VIRGIN Atlantic's Country Manager, China, David Rose says top-notch service, in everything from movies to afternoon tea, is the key to the airline's philosophy.

It may turn 30 next year, but Virgin Atlantic is still seen as young and cool by many travelers. Its founder, tie-loathing, thrill-seeking serial entrepreneur Richard Branson, made his first fortune in the music industry, before bringing his maverick visionary outlook to the world of aviation in 1984.

As Britain's second largest airline, with one of the world's youngest fleets serving major international cities, Virgin has been flying to Hong Kong for almost 20 years and to Shanghai for 15 years.

"Top-notch service, really comfortable seats, good food and in-flight entertainment are our world-beating products," said David Rose, Virgin Atlantic Country Manager, China.

As a comparatively small airline, Virgin's international flights are mostly from London, so has looked at ways of extending its reach to other parts of the UK for visitors.

"We pride ourselves on doing things different," Rose said.

This year, Virgin started to fly from London to three other British cities - Edinburgh, Manchester and Aberdeen - adding to the choices for flying to the UK for Chinese students and tourism groups.

"That's a real huge step forward in terms of the way we work," the manager said.

"It doesn't have a huge impact on our overall number of passengers, but it means a lot strategically to our offices around the world. We can now offer four destinations in the UK, rather than just London."

Virgin offers the quickest route for passengers flying between Shanghai and London. A 12-hour flight is always going to be something of an ordeal, but Rose says Virgin makes it a lot easier.

Its state-of-the-art in-flight entertainment system v:port, that most Virgin aircraft feature, offers 300 hours of movies, TV shows and music on demand.

Alternatively, there is a choice of 20 video channels plus 14 audio channels and 15 games on selected aircraft.

"We spend lot of money on getting the latest blockbusters in both the local language and English," Rose said. "When I fly on a Virgin flight, I can catch up with new films but on another carrier, it might be in six months' time."

Rose says Virgin wants its passengers to experience what flying used to be - romantic, glamorous, exciting and full of adventure, rather than the "get-on-the-bus-and-go" philosophy of some other airlines.

"A key part we always talk about is the level of the service. We have different types of passengers and give them a lot of independence and freedom, so that they can be themselves," Rose said.

"We want to give our customers tailor-made, trailblazing services, rather than a rigid form of service."

Passengers flying between Shanghai and London can enjoy authentic English afternoon tea in Upper Class (business class), while an on-board wine bar provides a place to stretch, relax and chat to fellow travelers over a glass of wine.

And for that trip-to-the-cinema touch, cabin crew can bring passengers ice cream while they're watching the latest movies.

"We're hiring the right people, who truly care for the others," Rose said.

The 33-year-old Scot has been in Shanghai for six months, and before that he was manager of Virgin Atlantic's Kenya office.

As a newcomer to China and Shanghai, the manager said one of the biggest challenges, for any business, as a matter of fact, is to really understand the customers.

"Obviously, one thing we've seen in the past 15 years is the changes in how the different segments of passengers are travelling to London - how people are travelling and how they're booking their travel," Rose said.

"The surge of online purchase behavior in recent years has meant we've had to adapt our selling model and be very much relevant to the online community, speaking to people online and marketing online."

Virgin Atlantic China has just launched its weibo microblog, which is manned full-time.

"We hope people can be much more engaged," the manager said.

For many of Virgin's Chinese passengers, it will be their first time flying to London.

"They might be nervous and excited. It's a great challenge but also an opportunity for us to offer them our quality service and as well as a pleasant journey," the manager said.

Virgin Atlantic was the first foreign airline in China that has local cabin crew on board.

"That makes our Chinese customers first trip to UK really comfortable and reassuring," Rose said.

Chinese customers, the manager said, share a quality the world over. "They could be tempted by lower cost carriers, but low cost doesn't necessarily mean best value," he said.

"When people become more and more (accustomed to) taking international flights, a safe and comfortable flight makes a real difference to their holiday quality."

Virgin China has ambitions to fly to Beijing, but Rose said it is still waiting for the right time.

"We have a passion for flying. We love flying ourselves - from our employees, cabin crew to designers - so we really want that to be one of the ways we connect to our passengers," Rose said.

"We don't want to be the airline people have to fly with, but an airline people love to fly with and work for," he added.

Blowin' in the wind

Q:What's your favorite holiday destination?

I love flying and travelling. I dreamt of becoming an aircraft designer, though it's a little different from what I'm doing now!

Eight years ago, I went backpacking to India, Pakistan and China, which was also my biggest trip. But at that time I would never knew that one day I would work in Shanghai.

The place I love most is the countryside because I grew up in the countryside. I like to get into the wild, seeing nature, enjoying fishing and trekking.

I went to Chengdu in Sichuan Province, and found it very close to some forests.

Q: What do you think is ideal airline service and hotel service?

Understanding the customer's needs. A lot of services can get forced upon you, but you can try to read the customer: Does he want to be left alone? Does he want to be looked after or does he want to be given lots of food and drink? To read them and understand their needs can be the best service.

Q: What is your favorite way of travel?

Flying, of course! You can go so far, so quickly and just change the view. I also love backpacking but not now, because you have to prepare and plan it for a long time. When you arrive at a city, you might spend two hours finding a hotel, but that's the joy of backpacking.

Q: Have you traveled in China and where is your favorite place?

Yunnan Province and Guilin in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. China has such a wide variety of landscapes that you can go to see the wilds in the center, the dessert in the west and the high mountains, such as the Himalayas.

Q: What is your motto of life?

Assume nothing and question everything.