British Airways Cuts Richard Branson Footage From In-Flight 'Casino Royale'

In a move that's almost as childish as not sharing your toys, British Airways has decided to conveniently edit out a Richard Branson cameo from their in-flight versions of Casino Royale, as well as blur an image of a Virgin Atlantic tail fin. How darling -- it's like a schoolyard fight between two giant corporations ... but at 35,000 feet. In the original version of Casino Royale, Branson can be seen walking through a metal detector at Miami Airport, then turning around. Producers allowed the Branson cameo after the man let them use one of his planes in their movie.

According to a spokesman from British Airways, it's up to them to decide what they will and will not show: "We screen all films before they're used on our aircraft so that we can control the content of what is displayed. We have full control over what is shown.'' Violence and nudity I can understand, but blatantly editing out a rival airline (and its top chairman) is a tad lame. However, this isn't the first time British Airways and Virgin Atlantic Airways have found themselves involved in a nasty pissing match; last year, Virgin provided U.S. and British authorities with information that lead to a price-fixing investigation involving British Airways PLC. Ha, so they fight back by editing Branson out of Casino Royale? What a way to stick it to the man! What's next -- BA will refuse to allow on board those passengers who bought music from a Virgin store?