Willie Walsh doesn't think airline alliances will exist 10 years from now
 

Walsh apparently made the comment in a session at the World Travel Market expo in London, alongside Emirates boss Tim Clark.

Walsh said:
Obviously BA not being in an alliance doesn't necessarily mean you won't be able to spend or earn on other airlines. I imagine it's becoming a headache for IAG as they gobble up more airlines, with some in Oneworld and others not.

Still, for me the Oneworld Alliance is pretty much the reason I fly the airlines I do. So BA would have to have the right 'joint ventures' in place to not lose my business.

I agree with him.

It will still be possible to book through tickets, codeshares etc, burn and earn and interline bags.

Some of the alliances are already looking a bit tatty, for example the refusal to check bags through on separate tickets. Also it solves the lounge issue under which some members provide mediocre facilities knowing users will migrate to other members lounges.

I reckon he predicts that somehow national interests will be overridden and legacy flag carriers will be swallowed into IAG or other similar mega-airline group that covers major destinations and trunk routes with smaller players filling in the gaps.

This is neither a new notion, nor a surprise given his stance on alliances.

Interesting what that article says about Star being the only alliance who has been able to bring in cost savings. There are I would have thought more scope for for this, and it seems a bit of a no brainer.

They are a slightly strange concept as in many cases the airlines in the alliances are direct competitors on certain route pairs and for remote connectivity therefore it is better to go to a third party. Now that regulators are tolerant of cartels and joint ventures it seems that alliances may be past their need.

Still, things are slow to change in the airline world and I doubt much will be different in a decade.

Big words from Willie Billy after all that's going on at BA.

The way Willie and his sidekick Cruz Control are running things - BA might not exist in 10 years time. Guess it will not matter to either of them as they will have taken their share options/bonuses etc.

Personally, I'd much rather WW and Cruz don't exist in 10 years time...

So true. After yesterday's cataclysm they may well not exist in five years at the rate they are going, putting all their eggs in one stateside basket.

hahahaha. After an awful day reading about the orange-u-tan (sic) that cheered me up no end! :D:D

Would this be the same Willie Walsh who said (well before the Referendum) that Brexit would not be "having any impact on our business”?

WW and IAG seem to have an unhealthy obsession with cost savings. He is promoting global consolidation because it enables cost savings and the primary argument against alliances is that it boosts revenue rather than reduces costs?

Well he is doing his best to transition it to a budget LCC... which has no reason to be in an alliance with carriers operating a proper service model.

Cathay, Qantas, JAL etc. must be getting pissed off covering the costs of giving BA customer benefits that aren't reciprocated. Qatar has already negotiated separate OWS and OWE lounges that are more on par with BA/AA lounges than the services they wish to offer their own premium customers and FF elites.

Qatar airways themselves use those lounges for their OWR, OWS and OWE members. The two premium lounges, Al Mourjan and Al Safwa only allow oneworld passengers travelling in business or first to access those lounges.

He was probably figuring on the guaranteed business of BA aircraft utilised by HMG to serve as troop carriers given leaving the EU means war in Europe. Hence, win-win either way for BA.