British Airways is in hot water for wishing the English rugby team good luck against Wales. Should flag carrier British Airways be renamed English Airways?
British Airways Supports English Rugby Team…At Expense of Wales
BA is an official sponsor of the English rugby team. Thus, wishing the English team well ahead of a match may have seemed innocuous enough. But the British in British Airways means England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland…BA is supposed to be the flag carrier of the entire United Kingdom. BA’s well wishes came at the expense of Wales.
British Airways wishing England luck against Wales in the rugby today is better than any other advert I’ve seen for Welsh independence.
Cheers lads. pic.twitter.com/f7ssmazhmS
— Gav Murphy (@cymrogav) November 28, 2020
Vaughan Gething, the Welsh Health Minister, tweeted: “Good way to annoy 3m+ potential customers.”
Good way to annoy 3m+ potential customers @British_Airways https://t.co/l8lv4DDYCg
— Vaughan Gething MS (@vaughangething) November 28, 2020
British Airways deleted the tweet and issued the following apology:
“We are proud sponsors of England Rugby but on this occasion we unintentionally strayed offside, for which we are sorry.”
But the damage has already been done. It did not help that England ended up beating Wales 24-13.
CONCLUSION
I’m not proud to admit it, but the first I learned of the Welsh independence movement was via Season 3 of The Crown. But it prompted further research then and I can certainly understand why the move by British Airways angered many in Wales. Even if the Welsh gain independence one day, they will still be British (as part of the island of Great Britain), just no longer part of the UK. Even so, British Airways’ cultural faux pax demonstrated the sort of disregard for Wales its citizens have cited for decades as a reason for seeking independence. BA should likely stick to flying and avoid wading into sport…
image: British Airways