Today british airways is a renowned name. People all over the world praise it, like it, love flying with it, endorse the brand with pride. But not many are ware of the dirty tactics it has been through to be here today, standing at this stature.
With world wars we saw a lot of changes in the politics and the economics all over the world. However what we did not realize was that the post world war era became the era of dirty politics. People understood the power of hook as well as crook. Everyone started realizing that the only way to succeed in business or politics is to beat the opponent to such an extent that he cannot rise again.
After the world war I, Great Britain basically initiated 4 airlines to fly over the continent as well as a few transatlantic flights. In a few years time, these airlines merged to form the imperial airlines.
At the same time, Great Britain started a number of smaller inland flights. Later these inland flights and the imperial airlines merged to form what we call today the british airline. However initially it was not called the british airlines but was known as the british overseas airways. With time, we know, names change though. Now this british air line was basically in-charge of long distance flights all over the world except for south america. The flights for south america were being handled by another subsidiary of the british airway. British airways later took this subsidiary too and merged into the main line, with all the flights bearing one name, that of the british airlines.
About 30 years later, british airway flights were increased as there was increased need for flights for recreational purposes and families traveling, other than business reasons. Lord King was majorly responsible for turning around the fate of the doomed airlines, into a huge profit making industry. There was an excess of privatization moves which yielded in great numbers, strengthening the expanding policies of the british airlines.
Then came the disaster. In 1980s, the Virgin Atlantic came into being. This was just another airline and the ba airways should not have been bothered in the least bit, with their name, their kind of stature and their market value. However, this is where british airline lost the sense of morality. Virgin atlantic was giving flights to some of the most lucrative routes of the british airlines . The british airlines should have left the things as they were and concentrated on positive marketing gimmicks, since we all know, that in the long run, false marketing does not work. The hoi polloi may seem naïve but is not that stupid to stop using their brains and relying totally on the marketing giants. The big push came when the virgin atlantic carried the war victims of saddam hussain to Iraq. This move was publicized a lot. People started praising virgin atlantic. The market opened for the airline, with public going crazy for the airline. Every one has his moment of glory. British air should have stepped back and praised the virgin atlantic as everyone else was doing. If british airlines would have whole-heartedly lauded the move, people would have appreciated that.
However instead, british air started using negative publicity gimmicks against the virgin atlantic. The defamatory tactics grew to such an extent that virgin atlantic sued the british airways in the court. Since everyone knew the dirty party in this case, the british airway offered an out-of-court settlement, losing all its glory and good name in the process. The settlement given to the virgin atlantic was partially divided in the employees as the ba airways bonus.
