Virgin Atlantic boss says he never meets BA chief alone over ‘dirty tricks’ fear

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. Weiss was asked about his relationship with 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.” 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.<br/>