Are Go sell-off stories just an Ayling rumour?

Are Go sell-off stories just an Ayling rumour?

A STORY linking former British Airways chief executive Bob Ayling with the sale of Go popped up in the papers last weekend, raising a few eyebrows at last word.

Surely this is akin to inviting an angry bull into a china shop, or is the City – which is where the rumours have come from – still reeling from a bad April Fool’s Day joke?

With Ayling’s track record, he is a less than likely candidate as a potential buyer for its low-cost carrier Go.

We know the price tag has slipped from £300 million to £100 million, but are buyers really that few and far between?

Ayling’s bumpy track record, which led to his departure last year, includes huge financial losses in 1999, the ethnic tailfin fiasco, his controversial plans to axe commission for agents and his swift exit from the Millennium Dome.

Undoubtedly without substance, the story has been avoided by Ayling, who appears to be playing a bit of cat and mouse with the nationals.

Ayling was reported assaying: “You may be 100% correct, you may be 100% incorrect. But I’m not going to tell you which.”