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Now Richard Branson is on the other side of the keyboard.
Many people recall the pointedly funny letter from a Virgin Atlantic traveler who didn’t like his dinner. Sir Richard offered the guy a job.
Sir Richard Branson
Today, the founder of all that is Virgin has taken to using that same tactic himself, penning a letter to [...]
Written by Travel News on August 21st, 2009 with
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Now Richard Branson is on the other side of the keyboard.
Many people recall the pointedly funny letter from a Virgin Atlantic traveler who didn’t like his dinner. Sir Richard offered the guy a job.
Sir Richard Branson
Today, the founder of all that is Virgin has taken to using that same tactic himself, penning a letter to President Obama asking the leader to jump into the American Airlines/British Airways anti-trust immunity request. It’s just another step in the “No Way BA-AA” campaign the man has started at his website.
“”Never before has the US government approved an anti-trust immunity application where barriers to entry are so significant that any new meaningful competitive entry is virtually impossible,” he wrote, the Telegraph over in the UK is reporting. “If their proposals were to be approved, AA-BA would have a monopoly, or near monopoly, on some of the busiest and most profitable routes from the US to Europe. AA-BA are seeking ATI authority to jointly set prices and co-ordinate capacity and schedules because it will enable them to squeeze existing US-Heathrow competitors off key routes. If AA-BA win, it will be an unprecedented loss for consumers.”
OK, it’s not near as funny as Oliver Beale’s way with words, unless you stop to realize that what he’s really saying is “Hey, Virgin needs to make sure it gets its share of the pie, too.” On the other hand, as Branson also pointed out in an op-ed this month, “It is because of fierce competition across the Atlantic that fares are at their lowest for 25 years. Indeed, the main reason that return tickets to New York have recently been as low as £250 is because several carriers are fighting to attract customers. We are in danger of destroying that now.”
The Brits’ opinion lean toward calling Branson’s game. Plenty of readers label the colorful entrepreneur as self-serving and duplicitous on this one, pointing out that his own airline code shares with Continental, which is precisely what American and British Airways are asking to do.
The reaction is very quiet on the U.S. side of the pond. Other than a few flyers saying, “Gee, I hope prices don’t go up,” the room is silent.
Perhaps we’re just expecting President Obama to now offer the billionaire a job.
Photography: tobybarnes
Written by Travel News on August 21st, 2009 with
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Read more articles on Tips and Tricks.
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