Virgin tries text cure for in-flight boredom

First there were the movies, masseurs and meditation programs, but Richard Branson's Virgin Atlantic Airways says it has found a new answer to beating the boredom on long flights.

The London-based airline said on Tuesday it planned to introduce the world's first in-flight texting service, which will allow passengers to have questions answered on any topic at 35,000 feet.

Passengers will be able to text questions from their seat-back television screens to an existing land-based text answer service which promises to answer any question within minutes.

"It's a great way to ask for a recommended bar in New York, what's the best way to get over jet-lag, or what's the best way to chat up the cabin crew," a Virgin spokeswoman said.