Virgin Atlantic to retain brand name after $360m Delta deal

Branson bet Walsh £1m on Monday (10 December) that the Virgin Atlantic brand would still be around in five years time after Walsh hinted a deal between Virgin and Delta would see the Virgin brand disappear.

Walsh hit back at Branson’s bet in an interview with The Telegraph by wagering Branson a "knee in the groin" if the brand was still around in five years. He said he did not have £1m so instead would bet on something "as painful to him as it might be to me".

However, the short term future of the Virgin Atlantic brand has been assured with the news that the airline will retain its brand and operating certificate as part of a strategic partnership with Delta. Delta will pay $360m for a 49% stake in Virgin, which is currently held by Singapore Airlines. Virgin Group and Richard Branson will retain the majority 51% stake.

Delta Air Lines and Virgin Atlantic claim the deal will create an expanded trans-Atlantic network and enhance competition between the UK and North America.

In a blog post, Branson claimed he was "not going anywhere" and said the deal would break the stranglehold British Airways and American Airlines have on trans-Atlantic routes.

He said: "For almost three decades Virgin Atlantic has been punching above its weight. We fought hard to stop BA and American Airlines getting together but they created a complete giant across the Atlantic.

"Now we are partnering with Delta we can give them a real run for their money which is I suspect why BA's chief executive [Willie Walsh] has behaved the way he has over the last couple of days."

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This article was first published on marketingmagazine.co.uk