War & Peace Quote by Richard Branson

Branson frames a corporate rivalry like trench warfare, then slips in the real punchline: survival is the win. Calling the fight with British Airways “competitive” and “ferocious” is more than macho branding; it’s a way to justify Virgin Atlantic’s entire origin story as an underdog insurgency against a national flag carrier with deep pockets, political gravity, and institutional confidence. The line “we’re very pleased to have survived it” lands because it rejects the usual CEO script of domination. He’s not claiming to have crushed a rival; he’s signaling that simply staying in the sky was the improbable feat.

The specific intent is reputational jiu-jitsu. Branson converts a long, expensive, reputation-scorching conflict into proof of toughness and legitimacy. In aviation, margins are thin and memory is long; the subtext is that British Airways didn’t just compete, it tried to kill Virgin. That implication matters because this rivalry wasn’t merely marketing. It carried real-world consequences: legal battles, allegations of dirty tricks, and a broader 90s-era story about challengers forcing complacent incumbents to play fair.

“About 14 years” is doing quiet work, too. It’s a reminder that the struggle wasn’t a flashy launch-era spat; it was sustained, exhausting, and structurally unequal. Branson’s casual phrasing keeps it personable, but the message is hard-edged: we endured the strongest bully on the runway, and that endurance is our brand.