easyJet, Europe's leading airline, welcomed seven year old Felix Stebbings-Mitchell into the cockpit of  an aircraft to help grant his wish of becoming superhero, 'Electroman', and was filmed saying the day for holidaymakers 'grounded' with no electricity. 

Felix, from North London, was diagnosed with the rare blood disorder XLD type 2 last summer and may need a bone marrow transplant as he is unable to fight off infections. The condition is extremely rare and affects only half a dozen children in the UK.  He is also on the autistic spectrum which has led to a fascination with pylons and electricity.   

Felix’s Dad, Steven, turned to Make-A-Wish® UK, a fantastic charity which grants the wishes of children fighting life threatening conditions. The charity worked with the help of easyJet and other Wish Makers including National Grid, Harrods Aviation and London Luton Airport, to grant Felix’s wish of creating his own superhero with electrical superpowers. 

After being chauffeured to Turweston Aerodrome in Brackley, and flown over pylons on board a National Grid helicopter, Felix’s superhero story began with him checking his super-tablet which revealed news about an ‘electrical issue’ onboard an easyJet flight. ‘Electroman’ was then flown to Harrods Aviation’s private landing base at London Luton Airport, where he was fast-tracked through security to meet his sister, Yael AKA ‘Sparkgirl’. 

The young superheroes made their way to the cockpit of the easyJet plane, where they helped the pilot, Captain Chris Foster, to ‘re-energise’ the electrics and ‘fix’ the plane. The easyJet crew and holidaymakers onboard were thrilled, as they cheered and high-fived Electroman and Spark Girl. The superheroes then left the big orange aircraft to join a celebration party. 

A short film was created of Felix’s adventure with London Luton Airport’s Neil Bradford, a former news reporter, exclusively filmed announcing the story as a news report. 

easyJet Captain Chris Foster said: 

“easyJet is delighted to have played a part in making Felix’s – or Electroman’s - wish a reality and it was a real pleasure to have him and Yael on board. We hope they had as much fun as we did! Make-A-Wish worked really hard to bring a number of experiences together for Felix and we were humbled to be a part of it.” 

Felix’s dad, Steven, who is campaigning for more people to sign up as blood donors to help children like his son, said: 

“Felix is a very special boy. So it was wonderful to see the huge smile on his face as the helicopter took off. To see him this excited has been such a pleasure. I would like to thank Make-A-Wish and everyone involved in making the day happen, particularly Captain Chris Foster and John Rigby who spoke directly to him, rather than about him, which I don’t see every often.” 

Joanne Micklewright, Director of Wishgranting at Make-A-Wish, said:

“This wish wouldn’t have been possible without so many #WishMakers from easyJet and Harrods, to Luton Airport, National Grid, Edmund the limo driver, the camera crew, our volunteer seamstress and cake collector  and of course Felix’s dad who has been the ultimate #WishMaker. A huge thank you to all of them. Please help us grant more wishes like this, sign up to be a #WishMaker to hear how you can help, www.makeawish.org.uk/electroman. 

“I’d also like to thank everyone who gives blood and to encourage everyone to do so and to sign up as a bone marrow donor at the same time because it gives people like Felix the chance of life.” 

Felix’s full adventure can be viewed here: http://bit.ly/2aXdL22 

There are currently 20,000 children and young people in the UK fighting a life-threatening condition. Make-A-Wish wants to grant 1000 wishes this year and receives no government funding – so every donation really does count.  To make a donation or to become a WishMaker, please visit make-a-wish.org.uk or telephone 01276 40 50 60. 

ENDS 

For further information, please contact the easyJet Press Office on 01582 525252, log onto www.easyjet.com or follow @easyJet_Press