Walsh speaks from the helm of BA

The past two years, while Willie Walsh has been at the helm of the UKs flagship airline, British Airways, have been disastrous.

Since Walsh took over, BA has been plagued by strikes, fined millions for price fixing, and had to respond to both bomb threats and climate change protesters. Over the past two years, the airline earned itself a public rebuke from the Archbishop of Canterbury after the airline denied a Christian employee the right to wear a crucifix while working. In addition, the chaotic state of Heathrow Airport is widespread public knowledge.

But even in the face of all that failure, Walsh remains optimistic. I look back and remember the things which went well, he says.

One of the things that has gone well for Walsh is his own career. The Irish man stepped into the aviation industry in 1979 as a trainee pilot for Aer Lingus. He was just 17 years old at the time. In the next 22 years he worked his way up the ladder to become the airline's chief executive.

After being poached by British Airways in 2005, he ended up where he is now: in an office near Heathrow's Terminal 2 at the centre of a storm of almost continual controversy.

Over the last two years, Walsh says his biggest problems have not been with airport operator BAA, but rather with security issues. He said that last August was his most stressful time, when planes were grounded for fear of terrorist activity.

In the future, Walsh looks forward to the opening of Terminal 5 at Heathrow. . Believe me when I say it - T5 is going to make a massive difference and will be fantastic from a customer point of view, he said.

 


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Jennifer Jones Editorial


14/10/2007


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