Interview with British Airways CEO Willie Walsh
Online, July 26, 2010 (Newswire.com) - Norwich, UK - Exec Digital interviews British Airways CEO Willie Walsh - a pilot who rose to become an airline boss - and talk is on volcanoes, mergers and staff strikes.
Rather than firefight at home Walsh will this year expand British Airways' business by linking with Iberia, the Spanish carrier, and American Airlines. BA has been seeking a US partner since the 1980s - wooing United Airlines and then USAir before first opening talks with AA in 1997 - and Walsh describes the eventual deal as a major strategic milestone.
"It is a very significant development and one which we have pursued for some considerable time," Walsh says. "It is more important strategically than it ever was in the past."
Even before anti-trust regulators gave the final go ahead for the airlines to swap data, 7,500 staff have been undergoing training at Heathrow, BA's main London airport, Dallas and New York. Those terminals, plus Miami, Chicago, Madrid and London Gatwick will be the hubs in a network flying daily to 500 destinations in 100 countries and serving 70 million frequent flyers.
Despite a full in-tray of problems, Walsh remains an optimist. And as ticket sales recover from recession-hit levels he is already looking beyond the Iberia and American Airlines deals. "I've long been a proponent of consolidation", he says. The US agreement allows for change over time he points out, while on the Spanish merger he adds: "Governance was one of the key issues to get right. We need to allow for further consolidation."
Read the full article at http://www.execdigital.com/business/face-face/interview-willie-walsh.
