British Airways/Iberia boss Willie Walsh has declared an interest in Virgin Atlantic – but only for its take off and landing slots at Heathrow. Walsh, chief executive of International Airlines Group, said he would be “very interested” in the UK long-haul rival but not for the brand.
“When I look at Virgin, what I see are slots at Heathrow. And I suspect anybody looking at Virgin sees it that way, because if it is someone from within the industry, then I don’t see that they’ll want to retain the Virgin brand, particularly a brand that is intrinsically linked to a personality,” he said in an interview with aviation journal Airline Business.
Walsh pointed to the recent row between EasyJet and its high-profile shareholder Stelios Haji-Ioannou, and questioned the benefit of acquiring a brand associated with someone who “some might describe as a ‘loose cannon’. Why would you want to acquire a business that came with some problems like that?”
Virgin Atlantic hired Deutsche Bank in December to carry out a review that could result in a sale or see the carrier join an alliance. Since then Air France-KLM and SkyTeam partner Delta Air Lines plus Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways have been linked with Sir Richard Branson’s carrier.
But Walsh said the only interest IAG would have in Virgin is its slots. “If they conclude that what they’re selling is, in effect, their slots at Heathrow, then we’d be very interested,” he said
Walsh added that his views on Virgin also applied to BA’s other major Heathrow rival, Lufthansa-owned Bmi. “It’s no secret that we’ve been interested in Bmi, but largely because of its slot position at Heathrow rather than the brand,” he said.
Virgin Atlantic director of sales and marketing Paul Dickinson said this week that he expected the airline to retain the brand, whatever the outcome of the review.
“Virgin Atlantic is one of the most successful brands in the world from a branding perspective and I can’t see a scenario where the Virgin brand would disappear from the airline,” he was quoted as saying.
Walsh is reported to have said at a Geneva aircraft finance conference that he was “not bothered” about the prospect of a competitor acquiring a stake in Virgin.