Editing David Burnside (section)

==British Airways==
In 1984 Burnside was recruited by the [[British Airways]] Chairman [[John Leonard King|Lord King]] to become the company's head of [[public relations]]. In this role Burnside is widely acknowledged {{Citation needed|date=January 2008}} to have become one of the most powerful PR men in [[United Kingdom|Britain]], speaking for King, administering a £5 million budget and receiving numerous PR awards both in the UK and around the world.

His success is perhaps overshadowed by the nature of his departure. British Airways was witnessing the emergence of a potentially strong rival, [[Richard Branson]]'s [[Virgin Atlantic]]. Virgin, which began with one route and one [[Boeing 747]] in 1984 was beginning to emerge as a serious threat on some of BA's most lucrative routes.

Following Virgin's highly publicized mission of mercy to Iraq to fly home hostages who had been held by [[Saddam Hussein]] in 1991, Lord King is reported to have told Burnside and CEO [[Colin Marshall]] to "do something about Branson".{{Citation needed|date=April 2021}} This began the campaign of "dirty tricks", which ended in Branson suing King and British Airways for libel in 1992. King countersued Branson and the case went to trial in 1993. British Airways, faced with likely defeat, settled the case giving £500,000 to Branson and a further £110,000 to his airline; further, BA was to pay the legal fees of up to £3 million. {{Citation needed|date=January 2008}}

It was an article written by Burnside (given legal clearance) in ''BA News'', the company's in house newsletter, that prompted Branson's legal action.{{Citation needed|date=April 2021}} Following the case Burnside was awarded a settlement of approximately £400,000 and free [[first class travel]] on BA for four years. {{Citation needed|date=January 2008}}