Mon, Apr 21, 2003
Virgin Atlantic, BA Sending Relief Flights
He's the golden boy of aviation, the man who's
reportedly ready to bid on the entire fleet of supersonic
Concordes. Now, Virgin Atlantic Airlines CEO, Sir Richard Branson,
is a humanitarian.
Branson hopes to send a 747 with medical supplies and some 200
volunteers to the war-torn Iraqi capitol sometime next week. ""The
health care system has collapsed in Baghdad. Things are pretty
desperate," Branson told the New York Daily News. "We've already
signed up 200 people to go, and it was just [Friday] we put the
request for volunteers on our web site."
The Business Angle
Ahh, but there's more to the story than Branson's
humanitarianism. Virgin Atlantic and British Airways are locked in
a heated race to restart commercial air service to what was once
Saddam International Airport in Baghdad. "In the long-term Baghdad
needs two principle things: to get the oil flowing and to get
scheduled flights," Branson told the Daily News.
Branson's competition, however, may have an edge.
The British newspaper, Guardian, reports London's flag carrier
wants to reactivate a long-forgotten treaty between the UK and
Iraq, allowing BA to conduct scheduled flights in and out of
Baghdad. Like Virgin Atlantic, BA hopes to start relief flights to
Baghdad as soon as the airport facilities, heavily damaged in the
war, are repaired. Last week, the American engineering and
construction firm Bechtel received a US government contract worth
up to $680 million over 18 months to restore the airport
facilities, as well as power and water plants in Iraq.
Branson doesn't expect to make money on a London-Baghdad route
for at least two years. The Daily News reports he's willing to
spend up to $20 million in the meantime, establishing service and
promoting it around the world. BA executives refused comment.
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