McLaren in talks with British Airways

British Airways (BA) is in discussions with the McLaren F1 team about "becoming an official partner," joining current sponsors such as Vodafone, Hilton, Johnnie Walker and Santander. If a deal is reached, the partnership would be "financed solely on a value-in-kind basis," and it "would not begin until the start of 2010 at the earliest." A deal with BA would enable the team to "reduce overheads." McLaren previously had a partnership with Emirates Airline in '06 MarketingMagazine.co.uk