A Virgin Atlantic plane crashed into a British Airways plane while they were both moving away from the terminal. The two planes crashed into each other on the runway at Heathrow Airport while people watched in surprise.
Both planes had only a little damage.
Virgin Atlantic said: “We know that the tip of a wing on one of our empty planes hit another plane while it was being moved from the parking spot at London Heathrow Terminal 3. ”
We always focus on keeping our customers and crew safe. No passengers were on the Virgin Atlantic plane at that time.
“We have started a detailed investigation and our engineers are checking the airplane for any problems. The airplane will not be used until the checks are done. ”
They said the plane had just finished flying and was being pulled to a different part of the airfield when it crashed.
Their flights are on schedule and there are no delays.
Someone on Twitter, named Alex Whittles, said “I just saw a plane crash at Heathrow. ”
‘A tug pushing a Virgin 787 hit the wing of a BA A350. ‘
Tag: British Airways
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British Airways and Virgin Atlantic aircraft collide at Heathrow
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British Airways, govt hold discussions on operational cost at KIA
British Airways has intensified discussions with the Government of Ghana regarding the challenges posed by the high operational costs at Kotoka International Airport (KIA).
This proactive engagement is in response to the concerns raised by passengers regarding the elevated travel expenses on the London-Accra route.
Complaints from customers about the high costs of tickets along this route have prompted the airline to address the issue.
In an exclusive interview in London, Neil Alan Chernoff, the Chief Officer of Planning and Strategy at British Airways, assured Joy Business that the airline’s management is actively involved in discussions with all relevant stakeholders to find a resolution to the problem.
“If an Airport is expensive to operate in, that cost will definitely be passed onto ticket pricing” he added.
Mr. Chernoff emphasized that the operational expenses at Kotoka International Airport are a shared concern among various airline operators. He expressed the opinion that achieving the goal of “competitive ticket pricing” or reducing ticket prices might prove challenging without addressing this issue.
This concern is not exclusive to British Airways, as noted by Mees Van Ojik, the Country Manager of Air France-KLM, in a recent interview.
Van Ojik highlighted that this situation acts as a significant disincentive for Ghana, particularly at a time when passenger arrivals have surpassed pre-pandemic levels.
Deputy Minister of Transport, Alhassan Tampuli, has revealed that passenger arrivals at Kotoka International Airport have reached 1.5 million, surpassing pre-COVID pandemic levels. In response to this, Mr. Chernoff noted that Ghana’s prominent position in the industry attracts a substantial number of air passengers to the country.
“Ghana in particular, we have seen demand picked up strongly, and we have seen demand come back”, he said.
“Demand has certainly exceeded what we were recording in 2019 and that is impacting on their operations positively on the London – Accra- London route”.
He stated that the development has influenced the decision to introduce the largest airline next to the A380, on the London- Accra- London route since 2022.
“The strong demand has obviously impacted on the operations of the Airline and that has also influenced our decision to review our route operations as an Airline”, he said. -
British Airways refutes claim to move all Heathrow-Accra-Heathrow flights to Gatwick
British Airways has confirmed that it does not intend to relocate all its Accra-Heathrow-Accra flights to Gatwick.
Instead, the airline is planning to increase the frequency of its Heathrow-Accra flights to ten times a week, including the possibility of night flights, subject to certain conditions.
In a recent exclusive interview with Joy Business in London, Neil Alan Chernoff, Chief Planning and Strategy Officer at British Airways, clarified that the decision to move its Heathrow-Accra-Heathrow flights to Gatwick in 2021 was due to specific constraints at Heathrow Airport, which no longer apply.
British Airways recently launched its London Gatwick-Accra-Gatwick flights, using Boeing 777-200 aircraft with increased passenger space and fewer premium seats. The new route also provides additional cargo capacity, benefiting Ghanaian exporters.
Chernoff mentioned that Gatwick Airport offers more convenience for travelers, and ticket prices will be determined by supply and demand dynamics. He noted that flying from Gatwick is generally less expensive than from Heathrow.
Alhassan Tampuli, Deputy Minister of Transport, recently reported that passenger arrivals in Ghana have exceeded pre-pandemic levels.
Mr. Chernoff, in response, said that “we have definitely seen demand picked up compared to what we had in 2019 for our Accra operations”.
He further explained that this increase in passenger arrivals has influenced British Airways’ decision to boost its flight frequency.
“The development is not about Ghana only. We are flying more flights than what we did in 2019 and it shows that Africa travels have reached above pre-pandemic levels”, Mr. Chernoff added.
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Ten weekly flights to Accra are launched by British Airways
British Airways is now providing Ghanaian passengers traveling from Accra to London with enhanced direct flight options.
Responding to increased demand on the London-Accra-London route, the London-based airline has introduced a total of ten weekly flights to serve Accra’s Kotoka International Airport.
Effective from Sunday, October 29, 2023, British Airways has incorporated an additional three flights to its existing daily London-Accra-London service.
These supplementary flights operate into London’s Gatwick Airport, utilizing a Boeing 777, on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, offering Ghanaian travelers a wider selection of flight times and airport choices.
To mark this new service, the airline is presenting a special launch offer with fares starting from $2,947 in Club World and $689 in World Traveller for flights from Gatwick to Accra.
The Gatwick airport provides Ghanaian expatriates and UK holidaymakers with an alternative London gateway. Additionally, premium customers, Gold, and Silver Executive Club members can enjoy the recently refurbished airport lounges.
This expansion in service also augments cargo capacity on the route, creating more opportunities for Ghanaian exporters to efficiently transport perishable goods and other products to the market through IAG Cargo, the cargo division of the International Airlines Group, the parent company of British Airways.
With a history of over 85 years of servicing Accra’s Kotoka International Airport, British Airways continues its commitment to providing exceptional service on the Accra-London route.
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British Airways expands travel choices with Accra to Gatwick Service for London-bound passengers
Starting on Sunday, October 29, 2023, travelers from Ghana heading to London will enjoy more travel options. British Airways is introducing three additional flights per week from Gatwick to Accra and back.
With this move, the number of flights between Accra and London will go up, providing passengers with increased choices for flight times and airport destinations. The new flights will be flying into London Gatwick.
This expanded service aims to enhance the travel experience for customers flying between London and Accra, in addition to British Airways’ existing daily flights between the two cities, connecting Accra and London Heathrow Terminal 5.
The new flights departing from Accra will take off at 21:20 GMT on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, reaching London Gatwick at 04:00 GMT. The return journey from London to Accra will leave at midday, landing in Accra at 18:35 GMT. British Airways plans to operate these flights using Boeing 777-200 aircraft.
He also mentioned that Gatwick offers Ghanaian expatriates and UK vacationers another entry point to London. Moreover, premium customers, along with Gold and Silver Executive Club members, can enjoy the recently renovated lounges, making their travels more comfortable for holidays or family visits.
Furthermore, these new services contribute to the cargo capacity on this route, creating more chances for Ghanaian exporters to efficiently transport perishable items and other goods to the market. This is made possible through IAG Cargo, the cargo division of International Airlines Group, the parent company of British Airways.
Pricing
British Airways, which has been serving Ghana for more than 85 years, is offering a launch special to commemorate the beginning of the new services. Tickets from Gatwick to Accra start at $2,947 in Club World and $689 in World Traveller.
According to some industry analysts, the service’s launch may have an effect on the cost of tickets for the Accra–London route in the upcoming months.
Introduction of new offerings to passengers
As cabin crew, pilots, and check-in agents transition from their current Julien MacDonald uniforms to the new British Airways uniform, passengers on these flights will soon begin to see the new uniform as well.
Ozwald Boateng OBE, a British Ghanaian fashion designer and tailor, is credited by British Airways with creating the uniforms.
The A350 fleet, which is British Airways’ newest and most fuel-efficient aircraft type and has the newest business class seat, the Club Suite, is used on all flights from London Heathrow to Accra.
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British Airways criticized for $50 extra charge on tickets for Ghanaian passengers
The Consumer Protection Agency (CPA), has called out British Airways for “illegally” charging Ghanaian travellers $50 more for tickets
In a statement, the CPA said its attention was drawn to the “illegal” practice by British Airways, “with regard to paying for your airline tickets with cash at Standard Charted Bank”.
The agency explained: “BA and Standard Charted Bank have decided to charge $50 for paying off your ticket at their branches, this is an illegal practice, and we are urging BA to stop immediately.”
“If BA and Standard Charted Bank have gone into any agreement, the passengers of BA should not be asked to pay any extra money besides the fare of the reservation”, the statement noted.
It said: “Per our investigation, this is BA that has instructed Standard Charted Bank to charge this ridiculous extra charge of $50 on top of your ticket price“.
“Anybody that has paid this extra $50 to Standard Charted Bank should not hesitate in contacting CPA for us to enable them get a refund.”
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BBC, British Airways’ stolen data likely to be released by cyber gang
A group of Russian hackers known as The Clop has issued a threat, stating that they have stolen payroll data belonging to over 100,000 employees from prominent British, American, and Canadian companies and organizations.
The hackers have demanded that the targeted firms initiate contact to engage in negotiations; otherwise, they will release the stolen data onto the internet.
The Clop group posted a message on the dark web, specifying that entities affected by the hack, including the BBC, British Airways, Aer Lingus, and Walgreens Boots Alliance, must send them an email before June 14th.
Failure to comply would result in the hackers publishing the pilfered data online.
“This is announcement to educate companies who use Progress MOVEit product that chance is that we download a lot of your data as part of exceptional exploit,” the post said, according to the BBC.
The hacking group successfully obtained personal information, including names, addresses, social security numbers, and bank details, by exploiting vulnerabilities in the widely used business software MOVEit, developed by Progress, a Massachusetts-based company. MOVEit is commonly utilized for file transfer within company systems.
Zellis, the largest payroll services provider in Britain and Ireland, acknowledged that data had been compromised from eight undisclosed organizations it collaborates with. The extent of the information accessed varied among the affected clients.
Zellis promptly responded by disconnecting the server that employs the third-party MOVEit software and engaging an external security incident response team for forensic analysis and continuous monitoring.
“All Zellis-owned software is unaffected and there are no associated incidents or compromises to any other part of our IT estate. We employ robust security processes across all of our services and they all continue to run as normal,” the company said.
Walgreens Boots Alliance said a “global data vulnerability, which affected a third-party software used by one of our payroll providers, included some of our team members’ personal details.
“Our provider assured us that immediate steps were taken to disable the server, and as a priority we have made our team members aware,” the company said.
British Airways, which employs 34,000 people in Britain alone, said it had notified staff whose information had been compromised and was providing them with “support and advice.”
“We have notified those colleagues whose personal information has been compromised to provide support and advice,” a spokesman said.
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US govt fines British Airways $1.1m for failing to refund cancelled flights
British Airways has been fined $1.1 million (£878,000) by the US government for allegedly failing to provide timely refunds to passengers whose flights were canceled during the pandemic.
The US Department of Transportation reported that the airline received over 1,200 complaints regarding this issue.
According to the department, between March and November 2020, British Airways’ website instructed customers to contact the airline by phone to discuss refund options for canceled or significantly changed flights.
However, customers faced difficulties in reaching customer service agents as the airline failed to maintain proper functionality of its phone lines for several months during this period.
British Airways has disputed these allegations, stating that it has always acted lawfully.
“There was also no way to submit a refund request through the carrier’s website during this period,” the department said.
It added that from March to November 2020, misleading information on BA’s website had led consumers to inadvertently request travel vouchers instead of refunds.
It said that along with the 1,200 complaints received by the department, BA had received thousands more complaints and refund requests directly from consumers.
The department said the failures had “caused significant challenges and delays in thousands of consumers receiving required refunds”.
It added that the fine established a “strong deterrent to future similar unlawful practices”.
BA will be credited $550,000 towards the penalty because it paid more than $40m in refunds to customers with non-refundable tickets in 2020 and 2021.
The airline said: “We’re very sorry that at the height of the unprecedented pandemic – when we were unfortunately forced to cancel thousands of flights and close some call centres due to government restrictions – our customers experienced slightly longer wait times to reach customer service teams.
“During this period, we acted lawfully at all times and offered customers the flexibility of rebooking travel on different dates, or claiming a refund if their flights were cancelled.
“To date, we have issued more than five million refunds since the start of the pandemic.”
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British Airways cancels hundreds of Heathrow flights due to IT issue
Thousands of passengers were stranded at London Heathrow for a second day after British Airways (BA) cancelled at least 42 more flights due to an IT breakdown.
BA said cancellations are still happening due to the “knock-on effect of a technical issue” resulting in staff being in the wrong location.
Around 16,000 passengers have been affected by the cancellations.
It comes on the busiest day for UK air travel since 2019.
Most of the affected flights are departing from or arriving at Heathrow.
But there have also been delays to other flights, while some passengers have been unable to check in online.
On Thursday, BA apologised for cancelling dozens of flights at Heathrow. The airline said it was related to “technical problems” causing difficulties with online check-in, delaying flights.
“While the vast majority of our flights continue to operate today, we have cancelled some of our short-haul flights from Heathrow due to the knock-on effect of a technical issue that we experienced yesterday,” BA said in a statement on Friday.
Those affected have been offered the option to rebook an alternative flight or request a refund, BA added.
The Independent’s travel correspondent Simon Calder calculated that at least 156 flights, mainly domestic and European, have been cancelled.
Aviation analytics company Cirium said Friday was expected to see the most departures from UK airports since before the Covid pandemic, with more than 3,000 flights planned.
This is partly down to families heading on holiday for the half-term break.
The issues started as security guards at Heathrow Airport belonging to the Unite union began a three-day strike over pay. The airport has said operations will not be affected.
BA has been hit by other IT problems in recent years including a major breakdown in 2017 that stranded 75,000 passengers over a holiday weekend.
The incident sparked a customer backlash with pledges from the carrier that it would do better in future.
Passengers also faced delays due to an IT issue in February, days after flights had been cancelled due to Storm Eunice.
Image caption,Dover has been dogged by long tailbacks of vehicles during busy holiday periods Meanwhile traffic has started building up at Dover as people embark on cross-Channel ferry trips.
Ferry operator DFDS said shortly before 08:30 BST that there was a wait of around an hour at border control for travellers in cars, while coach traffic was “free-flowing”.
The Port of Dover tweeted that traffic is “currently processing well with no wait time for coaches, less than an hour wait for cars”.
Dover has been dogged by long tailbacks of vehicles during busy holiday periods. In the lead up to Easter some coach passengers faced 15-hour delays to board ferries to France from the Kent port.
Dover’s boss said this week it has done “everything we can” to prevent travel delays over the upcoming bank holiday and school half-term break.
Elsewhere, Eurotunnel reported its cross-Channel vehicle services were busy, but trains were departing on time.
On the railway, a fault with the signalling system between East Croydon and Gatwick Airport is expected to cause disruption until around 15:00.
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Ghanaian passengers petition British Airways to decrease fares
An online petition has been signed by passengers of the British Airways (BA) asking the airline to reduce its fares.
The petition was started by one Esther Lulu who said Ghanaians are being charged excessive fees during peak times to fly to Ghana from the United Kingdom.
“This is an unfair economic tax on the Ghanaians. Please sign the petition to highlight awareness and support us to get British Airways to lower the fares to Ghana,” Lulu said.
The passengers complain that per their estimation, a 6.5 hour economy flight, Ghanaians are being charged the same average price as flying 24-26 hours to Sydney, Australia.
“This must stop. Ghanaians should not be penalised with excessive taxes, fares and fuel costs to visit families back home,” a frequent British Airways flyer said.
According to the passengers, an average return flight to Ghana starting in June and ending in September for a family of four persons – two adults and two children – can cost approximately £6000-£8000 without accommodation.
This is the same average flight fare to Australia, which takes over 24 hours to fly.
Checks on prices of flights of various airlines revealed that British Airways fares from Ghana to London are lower than prices of other fares from the UK to Accra.
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HSBC staff get a uniform of jumpsuits and jeans
HSBC has become the latest big company to announce a shift to more casual uniforms for 4,000 branch staff.
The new range includes jumpsuits and “menopause-friendly” garments for women, ethnic-wear, including tunics and hijabs, and chinos and jeans.
Last month, British Airways unveiled its first new uniform for 20 years, including a jumpsuit for female ground staff and cabin crew.
HSBC is to close 114 more UK branches from April, with about 100 jobs going.
The bank said the uniform re-design mirrored the “more casual new look of the banks’ branches”.
HSBC UK’s director of distribution, Jackie Uhi, said the days of “bowler-hatted bankers and intimidating bank branches with rows of screens” was over.
“The modern day banker is still smart and professional but much more casual and approachable,” she said.
“Our branch colleagues are the public face of the bank, so what they wear does not only need to reflect the brand, it needs to look good, be practical, comfortable and hard-wearing, while taking into account specific human needs like those who are pregnant or going through the menopause.”
‘Maximum comfort’
The bank said the fit, style and material of the new outfits had been designed to provide “maximum comfort” when people were experiencing menopause symptoms.
They include a fit-and-flare shape jersey dress, V-neck tunic, tailored jumpsuit, jersey tees and a chino knee-length skirt.
Image caption, BA’s new jumpsuit It comes after Virgin Atlantic announced last year that it was taking a “fluid approach” to uniforms which allowed staff to choose their clothing “no matter their gender”. The airline will allow male pilots and crew to wear skirts and female colleagues to choose trousers.
Meanwhile BA plans to roll out its revamped uniforms, designed by Ozwald Boateng, for 30,000 staff this spring.
Initially its jumpsuit will be for female ground staff but is set to be made available to cabin crew after further trials. The suit also includes a tunic and hijab option.
HSBC’s said its new uniforms, which took two years to develop, were its “most sustainable” yet. They are made from recycled polyester, dissolving plastic, ocean recovered plastic and sustainable cotton.
The unveiling comes months before HSBC begins another round of bank branch closures in the UK, shutting 114 sites. It will leave the lender with 327 outlets.
The bank has previously said banking remotely was becoming the norm for “the vast majority of us” and the number of people using banks was at an “all-time low”.
It has said it would try to redeploy affected staff, but about 100 would still lose their jobs.
Source: BBC
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British Airways: US flights departing grounded over technical issue
After scheduled flights from the US were delayed for several hours, British Airways issued an apology.
The airline reported that a technical problem with its third-party flight planning supplier was urgently under investigation.
BA travellers have mentioned spending hours in lines at airports.
The airline apologised for any inconvenience caused to its customers’ plans and said it tried to get planes out of the gate as quickly as possible.
Passengers have taken to Twitter to report waiting at John F. Kennedy International Airport for more than three hours.
Others said they had been sitting on planes parked on runways for hours, before being moved back to the airport.
In a statement, British Airways said: “Our flights due to depart the USA tonight are currently delayed due to a technical issue with our third-party flight planning supplier, which we are urgently investigating.
“We’re sorry for any disruption this will cause to our customers’ plans, our aim is for these flights to depart as quickly as possible.”
Source: BBC.com
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Kotoka International Airport has the capabilities to handle all aircraft – Captain Solomon Quainoo
Since the Emirates A380 landed at Kotoka International Airport in Accra nearly four years ago, Ghana has once more experienced a historic landing at the same location.
This time, on September 29, 2022, a British Airways A380, one of the biggest passenger planes in the world, landed in Accra, marking the nation’s historic second-time flight.
Captain Solomon Quainoo, a former Ghanaian pilot for Emirates, shared the information on Twitter on September 30. He stated, “Accra got a wonderful surprise yesterday having a record 2nd time an A380 operated (by British Airways) into Kotoka International Airport.
Nearly 4 years have passed since we first landed an Emirates A380 in Accra.He added that the second historic landing of the largest passenger aircraft proves that Ghana’s main airport [KIA] has the capabilities to handle such fleet.
“Such a great sign for the impressive capabilities of our home airport to handle the world’s biggest passenger aircraft,” Captain Quainoo added.
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UK government ‘wants to support aviation industry’
A question from ITV at the daily briefing raised the spectre of aircraft engine maker Rolls-Royce considering thousands job cuts, with the British workforce potentially bearing the brunt. It follows the announcement of major job cuts by British Airways and Ryanair.
BA is looking at cutting 12,000 people from its 42,000-strong workforce, citing a collapse in business. The company thinks it will take several years for air travel to return to pre-virus levels.
Ryanair is looking at 3,000 job cuts – that’s 15% of its workforce. Boss Michael O’Leary has also said it would take six months to refund passengers for flights cancelled.
Robert Jenrick, the minister fronting today’s briefing, said the government wanted to support the UK’s aviation industry, which he said was “an extremely important one strategically” as well as an industry which employs “a great deal of people”.
“If there’s more we can do, we will do so.”
Source:Â bbc.com
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British Airways to cut up to 12,000 jobs as air travel collapses
British Airways is set to cut up to 12,000 jobs from its 42,000-strong workforce due to a collapse in business because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The airline’s parent company, IAG, said it needed to impose a “restructuring and redundancy programme” until demand for air travel returns to 2019 levels.
The pilots’ union Balpa said it was “devastated” at the news and vowed to fight “every single” job cut.
IAG also owns Spanish airline Iberia and Ireland’s Aer Lingus.
In a statement, IAG said: “The proposals remain subject to consultation, but it is likely that they will affect most of British Airways’ employees and may result in the redundancy of up to 12,000 of them.”
The company said it will take several years for air travel to return to pre-virus levels, a warning that has been echoed by airlines across the world.
Alongside IAG’s statement, BA chief executive Alex Cruz wrote in a letter to staff: “In the last few weeks, the outlook for the aviation industry has worsened further and we must take action now. We are a strong, well-managed business that has faced into, and overcome, many crises in our hundred-year history.
“We must overcome this crisis ourselves, too. There is no government bailout standing by for BA and we cannot expect the taxpayer to offset salaries indefinitely… We will see some airlines go out of business.”
About 4,500 pilots and 16,000 cabin crew work for BA, which has already put almost 23,000 staff on furlough.
Balpa’s general secretary Brian Strutton said: “This has come as a bolt out of the blue from an airline that said it was wealthy enough to weather the Covid storm and declined any government support.
“Balpa does not accept that a case has been made for these job losses and we will be fighting to save every single one.”
Global impact
Also on Tuesday, IAG revealed the impact of the virus outbreak on group revenues. In the first three months of 2020 revenues fell 13% to €4.6bn (£4bn). Worse is to come warned Stephen Gunning, IAG’s chief financial officer.
Airlines across the world have warned they face a fight for survival.
In the UK, EasyJet has laid off its 4,000 UK-based cabin crew for two months. And Sir Richard Branson has appealed to the government to help bail out his Virgin Atlantic airline with a loan thought to be up to £500m.
Elsewhere, Qantas has put 20,000 staff on leave, while Air Canada has done the same for about 15,200 employees. Norwegian Air has said it could run out of cash by mid-May. At American Airlines, about 4,800 pilots have agreed to take short-term leave on reduced pay and more than 700 are taking early retirement.
We know the aviation industry is in the throes of an unprecedented crisis. But the announcement from IAG is chilling nonetheless – and not only because of the number of jobs at stake. That’s because the company is saying explicitly that it expects the recovery in the industry to be a very slow one, with passenger demand not reaching 2019 levels for “several years”.
The airline can survive on its financial reserves for the moment – and take advantage of the government’s job retention scheme to furlough employees for a short period. Government support of this kind is very short term. With a quick recovery it might be enough to save a large number of jobs.
Yet the prospect of that happening is deeply uncertain. It’s not clear when countries will remove travel restrictions, under what conditions people will be able to fly – or even if they’ll want to.
IAG has now made it clear it’s expecting the industry to look very different in future to what was the norm until just a few weeks ago, and is taking action accordingly. But unions will disagree, and the company may find itself accused of over-reacting – or even of taking advantage of the crisis in order to reduce its cost base.
Source:Â bbc.com
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British Airways owner’s boss Willie Walsh to step down
Willie Walsh, chief executive of International Airlines Group (IAG), the owner of British Airways, has announced he is to step down.
He is set to retire as chief executive and from the board of IAG on 30 June.
Mr Walsh said it had been a privilege to have worked on the creation of IAG after British Airways (BA) and Iberia were merged.
Antonio Vázquez, IAG’s chairman, described Mr Walsh as one of the “main drivers” of the project.
Mr Walsh became the British Airways boss in 2005 and is ending a 15-year career with the IAG group, which also controls Aer Lingus and Vueling.
He will step down from the role in March before retiring in June this year.
Read:British Airways presents BA 2119; flight of the future
Mr Walsh said: “It has been a privilege to have been instrumental in the creation and development of IAG. I have had the pleasure of working with many exceptional people over the past 15 years at British Airways and at IAG.”
Willie Walsh is a long-standing figure in the aviation industry. He joined Aer Lingus in the late 1970s as a cadet pilot.
He gradually worked his way up through the ranks to work in flight operations and was appointed as chief executive of Aer Lingus in 2001.
Luis Gallego, head of the group’s Spanish division, Iberia, since 2014, will succeed Mr Walsh.
He said: “It is a huge honour to lead this great company. It is an exciting time at IAG and I am confident that we can build on the strong foundations created by Willie.”
Major disruption
Mr Gallego will take over as head of the holding company of British Airways after the airline saw major disruption last year.
For the first time in its 100-year history, BA pilots went on strike in a long-running pay dispute.
Read:British Airways named Airline of the Year at Global Airlines Awards
In November, dozens of British Airways flights were also delayed or cancelled because of a “technical issue”. The airline also faced a £183m fine in July for a customer data breach.
Challenges to consider
Mr Walsh was boss at British Airways and then IAG for 15 years, more than triple the normal lifespan of a FTSE-100 chief executive. Arguably, though, he achieved more than all of his predecessors put together since the airline was privatised in 1987.
Previous leaders at BA had tried to do deals with rivals to reduce the company’s reliance on a single market – the UK – and a single airport – Heathrow. They had tried to reduce the power of unions at the company, to tackle its potentially ruinous pension deficit and to restore it to steady profitability.
Mr Walsh managed to do all four. But his critics will counter that in doing so, he hurt the airline’s status and turned British Airways from the “world’s favourite”, as its marketing claimed, to a run-of-the mill carrier.
He arrived at BA from Aer Lingus in 2005, an unfancied choice to replace the cerebral Australian Rod Eddington.
Read:Nearly all British Airways flights canceled as pilots go on strike
Mr Eddington had been hired, in the words of one board member at the time, “to put a smile on people’s faces”.
Mr Walsh never showed any sign of being interested in popularity contests and had a distinctly down-to-earth approach to management. BA had tried to do deals with Air France, KLM of the Netherlands and various other potential partners – to no avail.
Mr Walsh quickly tied up a deal with Iberia and followed on with Aer Lingus, turning BA into the largest player in a multi-airline group, IAG.
Generous terms and conditions for flight crew were gradually whittled down, and he was able to put enough money into BA’s two big pension schemes that big chunks of the remaining liabilities could be hived off to insurance companies.
In the process, though, BA has gradually slipped down consumer rankings. Last month, Which? put it alongside Ryanair as one of the UK’s least-favourite airlines, while it has suffered from embarrassing IT glitches.
Mr Walsh’s successor, the current boss of Iberia, Luis Gallego, will have to consider how to address this challenge when he takes over at the end of June.
Read:Meet the Ghanaian who saved an old man on board British Airways from dying
Long-running feud
Mr Gallego is unlikely to continue one of the aviation industry’s best-known feuds.
Both Willie Walsh and Sir Richard Branson claimed to have won a previous bet over the survival of Virgin Atlantic.
Mr Walsh suggested that Branson’s brand could disappear after Delta Airlines purchased a 49% stake.
In a blog post, Sir Richard said the stakes were high – “a knee in the groin” if the company folded within five years.
Other spats have taken place between Virgin Atlantic and BA.
Virgin launched a campaign against BA’s proposed merger with American Airlines in the 1990s, with some planes painted “No Way BA/AA”.
Sir Richard Branson also won damages and an apology from BA at the High Court in 1993 after BA allegedly gave negative stories about the Virgin founder to the media.
Source:Â bbc.com
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British Airways warns of continuing disruption after strikes
British Airways says it will take “some time” for flights to get back to normal, despite the end of a two-day strike by pilots.
Nearly 150 aircraft are out of place, along with more than 700 pilots and 4,000 cabin crew, it said.
BA was forced to cancel almost all of its flights on Monday and Tuesday due to the strike over pay.
But it expects further disruption in the coming days as it tries to get customers to their destinations.
“The nature of our highly complex, global operation means that it will take some time to get back to a completely normal flight schedule,” BA said.
Read:Nearly all British Airways flights canceled as pilots go on strike
“Due to the union’s strike action, nearly half of our fleet of over 300 aircraft and more than 700 pilots will start the day in the wrong place [on Wednesday].
“In addition, more than 4,000 cabin crew have had disruption to their rosters, and in many cases will be unable to operate again for several days due to legal rest requirements.”
The airline is offering affected customers refunds or the option to re-book to another date of travel or an alternative airline.
Balpa said that the strikes had been a “powerful demonstration of the strength of feeling of BA pilots”.
Tens of thousands of flights had to be cancelled, costing BA an estimated £40m a day.
It called on the airline to come “back to the negotiating table with some meaningful proposals” to try to avert the next scheduled strike, on 27 September.
Balpa general secretary, Brian Strutton, said: “Surely any reasonable employer would listen to such a clear message, stop threatening and bullying, and start working towards finding a solution.”
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Pilots had previously rejected an 11.5% pay increase over three years proposed by BA in July.
Balpa says its members have taken lower pay rises and made sacrifices during more stringent times for the airline in recent years.
But it says that now BA’s financial performance has improved – its parent company IAG reported a 9% rise in profits last year – they should see a greater share of the profits.
BA has said its pilots are already paid “world-class” salaries, and has described the pay offer as “fair and generous”.
After three years of the proposed pay deal, some captains could be taking home more than £200,000 per year, including allowances, it said.
Source:Â bbc.com
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British Airways: Can strike-hit airline rebuild its reputation?
It’s not been a great centenary celebration for British Airways. The operator officially reached the 100-year landmark on 25 August, just as the prospect of this week’s two-day pilots’ strike was starting to panic tens of thousands of customers.
To rub salt into the wounds, a report by reputation management company Alva placed BA 55th out of 65 airlines. Stranded passengers, IT failures, and lost data from a hack attack were among reasons cited for the airline’s low ranking.
Over several years BA’s profile has been defined by mishaps and operational issues, said Alastair Pickering, chief strategy officer at Alva.
“What initially may have seemed like bad luck or bad planning, can quickly morph into a narrative of underinvestment; the company putting shareholder interests above those of passengers and employees,” he said. The BA name has too many negative connotations.
Read:Nearly all British Airways flights canceled as pilots go on strike
The days when the airline promoted itself as The World’s Favourite Airline have long gone, and Brian Strutton, general secretary of the pilots’ union Balpa, has a couple of reasons why: cost cutting and a dumbing down of the brand.
As he told the BBC: “Management want to squeeze every last penny out of customers and staff.” This week’s strike is about pay, but Mr Strutton says there is a wider context – a lack of trust and confidence in management.
Pilots, and other crew, have long complained about an erosion of benefits, such as poorer accommodation on long-haul stopovers. In the lean years when BA was recovering from the global financial downturn, staff say they gave up pay rises. The airline’s generous pension scheme has been closed, saving hundreds of millions of pounds.
‘Fight for survival’
While a captain’s pay starts at about £78,000, according to Balpa, changes to the earnings structure mean it would now take much longer for a cadet to reach that level.There was an expectation that once the airline recovered financially, staff would benefit. But Mr Strutton says it hasn’t happened, which is why people whom he accepts are well paid are taking part in BA’s biggest industrial action to date.
BA is part of International Airlines Group (IAG), the parent company for carriers that include Aer Lingus, Iberia, Level and Vuelling. But BA is the biggest and most profitable part of the group.
Last year, BA’s operating profits rose 11.6% to £1.95bn. Profits were also up in the first six months of this year. In February, IAG raised its shareholder dividend and also declared a special payout. Since January, IAG’s share price has risen from 465p to a year-high of 572p reached last week.
In 2009, BA’s then chief executive Willie Walsh (who now runs IAG) said the airline was in a “fight for survival”. Intense competition on transatlantic routes and the popularity of budget carriers on European routes meant radical action was needed. The recovery cost almost 4,000 redundancies and everyone took a pay cut.
‘Deplorable’
But now that those dark days are over, pilots want to share in the success of BA’s turnaround, Mr Strutton says. “British Airways needs to wake up and realise its pilots are determined to be heard. They’ve previously taken big pay cuts to help the company through hard times. Now BA is making billions of pounds of profit, its pilots have made a fair, reasonable and affordable claim for pay and benefits.”
Read:Meet the Ghanaian who saved an old man on board British Airways from dying
BA insists that offering a share in the turnaround is exactly what it is doing. Alex Cruz, BA’s chief executive, told the BBC that everyone at the airline, not just pilots, made sacrifices. “The company recognises that. This is why this 11.5% deal, way above inflation… is a very, very generous deal.”
The impact on staff is only half the story, of course. Analysts say the reputational damage could be huge. Some 200,000 customers have been affected by the strikes, and with further action planned there will inevitably be lost bookings as travellers go elsewhere. Mr Cruz accepted that the strike would “punish customers” but also “punish our brand”.
Duncan Lyon, whose flight was cancelled and who is now trying to get a refund of £400, echoed the feelings of many customers who have complained of having to make numerous telephone calls to BA and feel there has been a lack of communication. His message to British Airways? “You are a disgrace and your customer service is deplorable.”
But, though serious, this strike is not the first time BA has weathered a customer storm. In addition to previous industrial action, the gradual dismantling of some of BA’s premium services has been a running sore for many long-time customers. Be it the removal of free meals on short-haul flights, introduction of checked baggage charges, or the ending of complimentary newspapers, BA’s loyal base has found many things to mourn about the airline.
Yet, passenger growth has continued year-on-year, and the airline and its subsidiaries carried about 45 million people in 2018. That may have a lot to do with BA’s dominance of Heathrow Airport and a feeling among some travellers that they lack convenient alternatives.
But BA says it underlines the expansion of its route network and investment in services. Indeed, the airline has a £6.5bn spending programme underway – a four-year investment on 73 new aircraft, training and services. The investment is, Mr Cruz told the BBC, the biggest in BA’s history.
For Alva’s Mr Pickering, the investment could be key to “revamping the passenger experience” and addressing the “growing customer cynicism”, adding: “The situation is by no means terminal.”
Source:Â bbc.com
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Nearly all British Airways flights canceled as pilots go on strike
British Airways says it was forced to cancel “nearly 100 per cent” of flights for Monday and Tuesday after the British pilots union went ahead with a strike.
The strike was called for by the British Airline Pilots Association (BALPA) amid a heated dispute over pay with the airline.
BALPA said Sunday on Twitter that it put forward a proposal to the carrier’s management Wednesday, but had yet to receive a reply.
British Airways said in a statement posted Monday it remains “ready and willing to return to talks with BALPA.”
Read:British Airways presents BA 2119; flight of the future
The airline said it was forced to cancel so many flights because “with no detail from BALPA on which pilots would strike, we had no way of predicting how many would come to work or which aircraft they are qualified to fly.”
Customers who had flights booked for Monday and Tuesday will likely “not be able to travel as planned,” British Airways said. The airline also advised customers not to go to the airport.Members of the pilots union voted 93% in favor of a strike in July. BALPA said last week that it would be willing to call it off if British Airways returned to the negotiating table.
Read:British Airways strike due to start at midnight
According to its website, BALPA represents more than 10,000 pilots in the United Kingdom — more than 85% of all commercial pilots who fly there.
The pilot’s union also intends to strike September 27. British Airways said Monday that it will be in contact “in the next few weeks” to let customers who are traveling on or around that date know if they are affected.
While the union is calling for higher wages, British Airways has said its offer of an 11.5% increase over three years “fair” and above the United Kingdom’s current rate of inflation. In a statement released last month, it said the strike could “destroy the travel plans of tens of thousands of our customers.” It called the strike “a reckless course of action.”
Source:Â cnn.com