Richard Branson accused British Airways of poaching Virgin Atlantic's passengers and spreading stories that his airline was going broke, and when BA's staff newspaper said he was only after publicity, he sued for libel. On the first day of the trial, in January 1993, BA apologised and paid 610,000 pounds, and Branson shared his damages with his staff as the BA bonus. This episode follows the whole story: the first jumbo jet, Lord King's privatised BA, the move to Heathrow, the allegations, the libel case, the antitrust fights in New York and Brussels, and the price fixing cartel the two rivals shared until Virgin turned BA in.
Founder Stories tells the story of one founder per episode, told plainly and in order.
