Richard Branson, founder of the Virgin empire, is known for his wealth, wavy blonde hair and penchant for eschewing formality in favor of adventure and productivity.
Even on his Twitter profile he dubs himself a “tie-loathing adventurer and thrill seeker.”
Delta Air Lines Inc.’s buttoned-down CEO, Richard Anderson, got a taste of Mr. Branson’s freewheeling style when the British executive visited Atlanta this week for Delta’s corporate leadership meeting. Virgin-Atlantic this fall will come to Atlanta as part of a joint venture designed to dovetail their schedules to take advantage of lucrative and coveted routes between U.S. cities and London Heathrow Airport.
In a blog post titled “Georgia on my mind,” Mr. Branson said the content of the conference showed that the airlines hold similar customer-service sensibilities.
Not so for executive dress codes:
“I turned up for the conference in a white open neck shirt and jacket, whereas Richard was all suited and booted. As I walked on stage, I could not help but pick up a pair of scissors and within seconds of sitting down was snipping my host’s tie,” Mr. Branson wrote.
On the second day of the conference, Mr. Anderson made a safer bet: He showed up in a bow tie.
Delta reportedly paid $360 million for its 49 percent stake in Virgin Atlantic, which is to enter Atlanta Oct. 26 by using one of Delta’s three landing slots between Heathrow and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
Read the blog post here.
