British Airways "will not be flying the England football team to the World Cup next year," according to the PA. The FA and British Airways "reached a stalemate in negotiations" after the national carrier put a £10M ($16M) price tag on the trip to Brazil. But British Airways said that the reason why it will not take the squad and coaching staff to South America was "because it does not have a spare aircraft available" (PA, 12/17). In London, Jack De Menezes reported British Airways admitted that they "couldn’t free up a plane during the busy summer period." A British Airways spokesperson said, "We have not refused to carry the England team. Regrettably, we could not reach agreement with the FA because we will not have a spare aircraft available for the length of time the FA wanted during the busy summer period next year" (INDEPENDENT, 12/17). Virgin Atlantic "has flown to the rescue with an offer" to fly the British team, according to the LONDON EVENING STANDARD. Richard Branson's carrier said "We would be proud to fly the England squad to the World Cup next year" (EVENING STANDARD, 12/17).
