posted 04-24-2007 01:35 PM                       

This Reuters article showed up in my daily Airwise this morning. I just love the corporate pettiness of it all. And the use of the term "airbrush." As for this feud, I've been a fan of Branson ever since he had "No Way BA/AA" painted on all of his planes back in the '90s.

quote:

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April 24, 2007
British Airways Edits Branson Out of In-Flight Movie

British Airways has airbrushed a scene of arch-rival Sir Richard Branson out of its in-flight James Bond movie "Casino Royale", sources close to the company said.

The Virgin Atlantic chief is briefly featured in the original 007 film at an airport security scanner, but can only be seen from the back in the edited version.

Shots of the tail fin of a Virgin plane have also been obscured, the sources said.

A spokesman for BA said only that it "previews films before they are screened on our aircraft and regularly edits films" on the grounds of taste and suitability.

The latest 007 film, which shows how Bond acquires his license to kill with its "00" prefix, broke worldwide box office records for a Bond movie, and earned Daniel Craig a Bafta nomination for best actor.

Virgin appeared in the film, according to media reports, because it had helped the film's producers get a plane to Prague where some of the scenes were shot.

Nobody from Virgin Atlantic was immediately available for comment.

Spats between the two carriers go back a long time. Last year, Virgin Atlantic was identified as having provided US and British authorities with information that triggered an investigation of alleged airline price-fixing in passenger fares and fuel surcharges involving British Airways.

(Reuters)

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