First BA, then Virgin, mocked for 'good luck' rugby tweets - TravelMole


First BA, then Virgin, mocked for ‘good luck’ rugby tweets

Friday, 29 Nov, 2020 0

British Airways and Virgin Atlantic managed to infuriate rugby fans ahead of the weekend’s Autumn Nations Cup games, with well-meaning, but ill-thought-out tweets.

On Saturday, after BA tweeted: "Good luck to the England Rugby team against Wales today," the hashtag #English Airways began trending and there was a backlash from Wales fans.

Wales’ Minister for Health Vaughan Gething tweeted: "Good way to annoy 3m+ potential customers," while another Welsh politician, Alun Davies, Member of the Senedd for Blaenau Gwent, said: "And you expect me to fly with you, British Airways?"

BA then deleted the tweet, and apologised, saying it had ‘unintentionally strayed offside’. However, that caused more outrage among people who felt the post should not have been removed.

"Fair enough. As BA sponsor England, they can cheer them on. They are not a British airline anymore anyway. Spanish these days so no need for us Weshies to get upset," said one Twitter user.

Another said Davies’ tweet was: "Pathetic rubbish, politic cheap point scoring," adding: "They sponsor England rugby via a lucrative deal with the RFU. Why shouldn’t they wish England well? Do rugby sponsors in Wales and Scotland have to wish England well too?"

Virgin Atlantic also attempted to have a go at BA, tweeting: "Good luck to England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales in the rugby this weekend. #British."

However, the airline was hit with a deluge of tweets from people saying Virgin had offended the Irish, while others pointed out Scotland wasn’t playing at the weekend.

England beat Wales 24-13.



Related News Stories:  



 

profileimage

Lisa

Lisa joined Travel Weekly nearly 25 years ago as technology reporter and then sailed around the world for a couple of years as cruise correspondent, before becoming deputy editor. Now freelance, Lisa writes for various print and web publications, edits Corporate Traveller’s client magazine, Gateway, and works on the acclaimed Remembering Wildlife series of photography books, which raise awareness of nature’s most at-risk species and helps to fund their protection.



Most Read

Kittipong Prapattong’s Plan for Thailand’s Tourism Growth: Taxes, Visas, and Campaigns

James Jin: Didatravel’s Journey from China to Global Reach and the Impact of AI on Travel

Darien Schaefer on Pensacola’s Evolution: From Small Town to Global Destination

Florida Tourism’s Next Frontier: Dana Young on Expanding Beyond the Classics

Patrick Harrison on Tampa Bay Tourism’s Resilience and Marketing Strategy

Bubba O’Keefe on Clarksdale’s Vibrant Music Scene

Commemorating Elvis and Embracing Tupelo’s Culture with Jennie Bradford Curlee

Craig Ray and the Expansion of the Blues Trail

Presenting Mississippi’s Cultural Trails with Katie Coats

Robert Terrell: A Journey Through BB King’s Influence

Rochelle Hicks: Celebrating Mississippi’s Musical Legacy

Exploring Jacksonville with Katie Mitura: The Flip Side of Florida
TRAINING & COMPETITION

Our emails to you has bounced travelmole.com Or You can change your email from your profile Setting Section

Your region selection will be saved in your cookie for future visits. Please enable your cookie for TravelMole.com so this dialog box will not come up again.

Price Based Country test mode enabled for testing United States (US). You should do tests on private browsing mode. Browse in private with Firefox, Chrome and Safari