Alan Cumming Talks Drinking On Airplanes And Virgin's Newest Clubhouse

Forbes

27-03-2025

Alan Cumming is not one of those people who avoids alcohol on a plane—far from it. 'You're in a metal box flying through the air at 37,000 feet. It's not a natural or healthy thing to do, so you might as well have a drink,' says the Emmy-winning host of The Traitors, the Peacock reality TV show. 'I do drink lots of water though,' he adds as an afterthought. 'Lots of water.'
Working with Virgin's new lounge, drink in hand, wasn't a stretch for Alan Cumming.
While booze is on the agenda, work is not, aside from a bit of messaging before the meal arrives. '[To say] I was texting you from the skies— I still find that exciting and bizarre …[but] I do everything that I can to ensure that I have a restful Alan time. [Plane travel is] still a magical sort of adventure.'
Restful 'Alan time' often involves a movie. 'Last night, I watched 'A Real Pain' [starring Jesse Eisenberg and Kieran Culkin.] I really loved that film,' Cumming says, admitting he shares a common propensity for tears in flight. 'I get very emotional on planes. .... I mean, I think I would have cried at that one anyway. It was very moving.'
His in-flight rituals appear to suit him well – Cumming always looks fabulous, despite exhausting jet-setting, between filming 'The Traitors' in Scotland, a movie in Belgium, and performing concerts in Canada. In mid-March, he stopped for a bit at Los Angeles International Airport to chat with me via Zoom from about his charming collaboration with Virgin Atlantic – a 'bedtime story' promoting the airline's new LAX Clubhouse lounge, the sixth in a growing portfolio.
The Royal Box for VIPS features a special menu and Drama Queen cocktails.
Cumming says for this particular role, getting into character was not difficult. 'Being charming and witty, having a laugh and being in a lounge…it's kind of my natural habitat,' he says. 'It's not that big of a stretch for me.'
In the story, available to view here, Cumming guides viewers through the new lounge – always with a drink in hand, going from wine to the 'Drama Queen' – an embellishment of Virgin's signature Redhead cocktail, a mix of gin, lemon juice, strawberry and blackberry liqueurs topped with Prosecco.
Highlights of the LAX Clubhouse include acoustically sealed work pods, The Ruby Room—a Hollywood-inspired salon kitted out with a cinema—and The Zen Den, a wellness space with relaxation, movement, and mindfulness sessions by the FORME Studio. Table service is available throughout, featuring freshly prepared food and cocktails –both full-proof crafted by Virgin Atlantic's mixologist as well as some non-alcoholic options intended to promote sleep and wellness.
The Zen Den features relaxation, movement, and mindfulness sessions by the FORME Studio.
'When you come into this lounge, it's almost like the flight starts,' Cumming says, noting that it's designed with overnight jaunts in mind. 'You want to get into a rhythm of settling down and going to sleep as you go over the Atlantic. It's like an incantation.'
I know what you all are thinking – what about Lala, the ebony black rescue pup that has been Cumming's companion for nearly a decade? As a certified assistant animal—and one who has appeared with the performer everywhere from The Tonight Show to the New Yorker Festival—she will be welcome in the LAX Clubhouse, says a spokesperson for the airline.
'She's like my wingman, but she's starting to get too much of the attention,' Cumming says with a laugh about the pup, who has become a breakout star of The Traitors. 'I take her to lots of things where people don't normally take their dogs, and it changes the whole atmosphere. Everyone is better, I think, when there's an animal like her, a nice dog like her around.'