Richard Branson, CEO of Virgin Atlantic, spent a lot of time on the phones this Christmas. Or at least his voice did.

It seems that Virgin Atlantic sent members of its flying club frequent flyer program an e-mail asking them if they’d like to get a call from the boss. The e-mail then directed readers to a Web site featuring tumbling snowflakes and a picture of Branson, where they could indicate the best time for the billionaire to ring. “Obviously, this means I have to call quite a few people,” Branson’s voice said matter-of-factly as the site opened.

Not surprisingly, Branson did not actually phone each member himself, but he did have to record the phone message and “pages and pages” of names.

The airline said that within hours of sending the email, it had received some 10,000 requests to hear the tycoon say “.. this is Richard Branson. I’d like to extend a special holiday greeting to you. This time of year my thoughts turn to all the great people who supported Virgin Atlantic. 2006 is going to be a fantastic year, I can feel it.”