BA 'may not fly Olympic flag'
04.02.07
Officials prepraring for the 2012 Olympic Games in London have invited non-domestic airlines to bid to be the official airline for the games after an apparent lack of interest from British Airways, the Telegraph newspaper reports. With an apparent price tag of £80m plus, the airline's new chief executive is reported to be questioning whether it represents value for money.
The news will cause fresh embarrassment for the organisers after recent reports that they are struggling to attract sponsors. No non-domestic airline has won the right to call itself an official Olympic Games airline since the current sponsorship model was created for the 1984 Los Angeles games. Traditionally the biggest local airline has been signed up as the sponsor.
BA and Virgin Atlantic joined forces to support London's bid to host the games, but the flag carrier has since gained a new chief executive who has committed to cutting costs at the airline by £450m by March nexct year, and he is seemingly unimpressed by the prospect of paying to be an official sponsor.
Chris Townsend, the commercial director of the London Organising Committee, denied that it was struggling to fill the spot. He said: 'The auction for the airline partnership has been opened up to non-domestic airline brands in an effort to maximise competition and revenue for the games.'
A spokesman for BA said: 'British Airways was delighted when the London bid team won the contest. However, no decision has been made on the airline's involvement with the games in 2012.' However, a n 'insider' told the newspaper the airline is unconvinced that sponsorship will provide justifiable commercial benefit.
Industry sources believe Olympic partner status will end up costing between £80m and £100m after an auction. One told the newspaper: 'If you're not among the top five sponsors with Visa and Coca-Cola you don't get much for your money. Second tier sponsors like the airline will pay £80m but for what exactly?'
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