Some champagne, Mr Bin Laden?

Osama Bin Laden is giving 007 a run for his money, at least on the style front. The baddest man on the planet plans to fly first class by British Airways (BA) to Washington on October 26, 2010. And the good old BA is his airline of choice, as he is a frequent flyer.

And that's straight from the horse's mouth—not Osama, but BA. A cover story in LHR News—a BA staff magazine—about a new feature that allows passengers to download tickets to their iPhones has a mock boarding pass for "Bin Laden/Osama", complete with a date of journey, gate for boarding and a seat number (7c).

The goof-up has left the airline red-faced and desperately searching for explanations. After all, Bin Laden is scheduled to fly to Washington, not far from the Pentagon which was pummelled by a plane hijacked by the man's acolytes.