When Sir Richard Branson and Boeing chairman Jim McNerney put their signatures on the £4billion contract for the 787 Dreamliner, it seems neither realised that they were also committing to lose a stone each "to reduce carbon emissions" on the delivery flight.
The final clause of the contract, which was announced by Branson on Virgin's return to Chicago, stated "the parties hereby agree that each of the signatories will lose at least one stone in weight in order to reduce carbon emissions by over 36 pounds on the delivery flight."
Speaking to The Daily Mail, Virgin Atlantic's communications director, Paul Charles said the clause was added by staff as a joke to see if their chairmen would read the small print.
"They had no idea they had agreed to lose weight until after their signatures were down on the dotted line. They thought it was very funny", Charles explained. "We are doing our bit to tackle carbon emissions, but losing weight was an additional element thrown in for added effect."
Both Branson and McNerney are apparently going to uphold the bargain - they have until 2011 before Virgin Atlantic takes first delivery of the new jets.
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Originally Posted by Phil D.
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