Virgin Atlantic’s boss has revealed he never meets his British Airways counterpart alone because he does “not want to get caught out”.
Shai Weiss said he has “professional respect” for Sean Doyle but is cautious because of the dirty tricks scandal.
In the early 1990s, British Airways was accused by Virgin Atlantic of hacking its computer records so it could obtain its passengers’ details and attempt to poach them.
A protracted legal affair ended with British Airways having to pay Virgin Atlantic founder Sir Richard Branson large damages and having to fork out for punitive legal costs.
Mr Weiss was asked about his relationship with Mr Doyle on stage at the Airlines 2024 conference in Westminster on Monday.
The 56-year-old said: “I’ve never met Sean on a one-to-one basis, it’s just not happening.
“I remember the dirty tricks campaign launched by British Airways. I’m not going to get caught out.
“I have professional respect for him, we co-operate when we need to, and we try to kick the shit out of them in the marketplace.”
Mr Weiss said the UK is “privileged to have two very strong carriers”, and believes both airlines are “better” because of the competition they provide to each other.
He cited the example of the carriers working together to oppose increases in charges at Heathrow Airport.
He went on: “In Europe, there are no (other) countries with two flag carriers, and that does wonders for the service that the consumers in the United Kingdom receive, to the fact that we always try to be better, and that from time to time we actually co-operate.
“I respect British Airways, but our job is to keep ourselves fresh, ahead of the competition and to keep them guessing.”
