British Airways boss would love to see the Virgin Atlantic brand become history
Skift Take
Though the influential BA boss would love the longtime thorn in his side to be buried once and for all, unlikely Delta would bury the brand name which still has a lot of resonance with consumers. Not to mention UK and EU regulators may prevent too many changes with a deal anyway.
The Virgin Atlantic brand could could soon be consigned to the history books, British Airways boss Willie Walsh has suggested, with Sir Richard Branson’s UK carrier set to become the latest name to be swept up in the wave of aviation consolidation.
Mr Walsh said the Virgin Atlantic name will likely be scrapped by US giant Delta, which is in talks to buy a 49pc stake in the UK carrier from Singapore Airlines . It is believed negotiations could come to a head as early as this week.
Delta’s European partners Air France-KLM are subsequently expected to buy part of Sir Richard’s 51pc holding in the trans-Atlantic airline he set up in 1984.
Willie Walsh, the head of British Airways and Iberia, argued Delta’s main interest in Virgin will be the UK carrier’s prized Heathrow t
