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The bet that went south: Why Sir Richard Branson is all set to knee his arch-rival at BA in the groin (literally)

Sir Richard Branson and Willie Walsh have a long-standing rivalry
Sir Richard Branson and Willie Walsh have a long-standing rivalry

Fight, fight, fight!

Erm, what?

Well, this might all be a bit unseemly, but at some point next week - probably on Monday (December 11) - the world could bear witness to the curious sight of two very senior figures in the aviation industry orchestrating a small but notable act of violence as one projects something hard and bony into the other's softest and most sensitive body parts.

Again - erm, what?

We are almost at the appointed hour when Sir Richard Branson is due to knee Willie Walsh in the groin, unless there is an eleventh-hour collapse in Virgin Atlantic's fortunes that is - the sort of collapses the England cricket team is currently offering up in Australia, only with a nose-diving share price and a corporate take-over.

Willie Walsh - will he honour the bet?
Willie Walsh - will he honour the bet?

I'm sorry, none of this is making sense...

OK, we'll give you some context. Five years ago, Branson (who is, of course, the founder of Virgin Atlantic, along with many other Virgin-branded things) and Walsh (who is CEO of IAG, International Airlines Group, the conglomerate which runs British Airways and Iberia) had a bit of a public spat. It ended up with both men offering the other out. Not in the style of a closing-time brawl, of course. No, it was far more tetchy than that.

In short, it boiled down to Branson suggesting a bet, with the loser due to pay the winner £1million (to be shared among the winner's staff members). Walsh retorted that Branson was very rich, and that dropping seven figures wouldn't hurt him at all. And that a better idea would be for the winner to give the loser a blow to their intimate area with a sharp thrust of a kneecap. Which would hurt.

Good grief. What were they fighting about?

This goes back to December 2012, when Virgin Atlantic was about to form a commercial partnership with Delta. The American carrier was in talks with Singapore Airlines about buying the 49 per cent stake in Virgin which the Asian airline then owned - a deal which subsequently went through. Branson, obviously, thought this was a grand plan. Walsh reckoned it would be the death of Virgin Atlantic as a brand, and said so.

What did Walsh say exactly?

“I can’t see Delta wanting to operate the Virgin brand, because if they do, what does that say about the Delta brand?"

“Delta believe they are the number one airline in the world, so what they would want to do is acquire the slots at Heathrow to enable them to have a strong presence at Heathrow.”

Virgin Atlantic Seattle - Credit: AP/Ted S. Warren
Walsh wagered that all this would be a thing of the past Credit: AP/Ted S. Warren

In other words, bye bye red-and-white planes; bye bye red-uniformed cabin crew; bye bye those neat little plastic gift pouches with eye masks and toothpaste that you get when you board a Virgin flight; bye bye the name "Virgin Atlantic", all devoured by an American giant.

And Branson didn't like this much?

He did not. He quickly penned a blog which said:

"Rumours have been spread in the press that I am planning to give up control of Virgin Atlantic and, according to Willie Walsh - who runs BA - that our brand will soon disappear. This is wishful thinking and totally misguided. Will BA never learn?”

Profile | Richard Branson
Profile | Richard Branson

He added that the Virgin Atlantic name would definitely be around in five years' time. And that if it wasn't, he would give Walsh £1million to distribute among BA staff - the caveat being that, if Virgin still existed, Walsh would be the one writing the cheque.

And this is when Walsh suggested a minor assault as an alternative?

Yep.

Walsh has been critical of Branson in the past
Walsh has been critical of Branson in the past

Specifically: "Branson is a billionaire banker, allegedly. I’m not a billionaire. So maybe a bet that would have as much pain to me as it would to him – a knee in the groin.”

Ooh. That use of "allegedly" is a bit snarky. Is there bad blood between the two?

Well, it's no secret that the relationship between British Airways and Virgin Atlantic has long had a bitter edge, with the national carrier viewing the latter as an upstart newcomer, intruding on its turf.

In 1993, amid a wider row about a supposed "dirty tricks" campaign waged by British Airways against Virgin, Branson sued his competitor for libel. BA settled out of court, paying a legal bill which may have amounted to £3million - as well as damages of £500,000 to Branson, and a further £110,000 to Virgin, which Branson reportedly shared out among his staff members.

The golden age of British Airways (before the strikes and £5 sandwiches)
The golden age of British Airways (before the strikes and £5 sandwiches)

Yes yes. But what about the tit-for-tat stuff between Branson and Walsh?

Well, Walsh was not in charge of BA during the reported "dirty tricks" era (the chief executive at the time was Bob Ayling). But there is no doubt that the rivalry between the two airlines has spilled into personal animosity between the two men.

Speaking about Branson in 2012, Walsh said that he did not know him well, but that "on the limited occasions" he had met him, he hadn’t seen anything that would "make me want to meet him again".

“I just don’t see that the guy has anything that stands out in terms of what he has achieved in the industry,” he added. "I’ve said it publicly, I don’t respect him in the way I respect other people in the industry, and that’s a personal view."

Walsh also couldn't resist a swipe at Branson in 2014 when Little Red - the Virgin subsidiary set up in 2012 to offer domestic flights in the UK - ceased operations.

In numbers | British Airways
In numbers | British Airways

"It’s looking terrible," he crowed, just before the Little Red fleet was grounded. "The fact is, they are struggling – you can’t make money flying planes that are less than half full. I said it would be a mistake – and am delighted to be proven correct.”

So Walsh has made some loaded comments. Has Branson been silent?

No. Branson, for his part, has had the odd crack at Walsh as well.

In 2006, a storm of allegations about price fixing between Virgin and BA over passenger fuel surcharges hit the headlines. Come 2008, a Branson TV appearance to discuss the matter on BBC show The Money Programme saw another volley of words exchanged - and anger from the Virgin supremo.

The spat is part of a wider rivalry
The spat is part of a wider rivalry

"Look what happened to the last BA chief executive who made allegations against me," he said, referring to the 1993 law suit. "It's no wonder that BA is in the state it is in if Willie Walsh has the time to watch past editions of The Money Programme."

Feel free to wave an imaginary handbag in the air.

So is the showdown going to happen?

Well, December 11 marks the end of the five-year window mentioned in the bet. And Virgin Atlantic still exists. You can go to the website - virginatlantic.com - and check, if you don't believe us.

The airline has bucked Walsh's doom-laden 2012 predictions as well. In December 2013, the airline reported a £51million group pre-tax loss - but by December 2014 it was announcing a pre-tax profit of £14.4million.

At a glance | British Airways vs. Virgin Atlantic
At a glance | British Airways vs. Virgin Atlantic

Branson, though, has acknowledged that the link-up with Delta probably saved the airline. In 2015, he admitted that Virgin would have been "in real trouble" without its American partner.

Since then, it has announced a further tie-in. In July of this year it was revealed that Air France-KLM was acquiring a 31 per cent stake in the portion of Virgin Atlantic held by Virgin Group (for a price of £220million). Virgin, though, will continue to fly under its own livery, and the brand will continue to exist.

Yeah, yeah. Come on, cut to the chase. Is Richard Branson really going to weigh in on Willie Walsh? Tell me where and when. Will it be on the telly?

We don't know about the telly, but Telegraph Travel has had direct confirmation from Branson himself that, yes, something "fun" is on the cards.

"We believe it’s December 11," he says. "That is the day that the bets were laid. We’ll try to keep the airline flying until then!"

Yes, it's all a little odd
Yes, it's all a little odd

So it's On Like Donkey Kong?

So it would seem.

Does he get a run-up?

We wait with baited breath. So, we assume, does Willie Walsh.

Will this be the end of the matter?

We do hope not. This war of words is far more fun than the nuts (if you'll pardon the pun), bolts and profit margins of the airline industry. Maybe they'll go double or quits.