toothy

Interesting re John Gibbs as CIO - the IT at Rolls-Royce isn't great either.

subject2load

The ‘retirement package’ will be generous to say the very least.

But nonetheless, perhaps a piggy bank might be a welcome gift ; useful for storing all those pennies he’s been pinching over the years ..............

Kgmm77

Walsh’s success over 15 years in his last 3 jobs was precisely because of his ability to take substantial cost out of each of the businesses he ran, whilst increasing revenue. I’d even go further to say his key differentiator was that he cottoned on much quicker than almost every other legacy airline that low cost was the only way. It’s inevitable that his successor will continue to follow this path and follow as close to Ryanair and the other low cost leaders as they can get away with without impacting revenue.

This actually struck me earlier in the week, queuing up to board a Ryanair plane 20 mins before boarding started, as I had done exactly the same on a BA flight the previous week.

The point is not that there is no difference between the two models, rather that that list of differentiators between low cost and BA gets smaller year on year.

beachmouse

While not quite 1960s soft product, Delta still does manage to run a respectably profitable air operation and still provide free seat assignment for all fare classes except economy basic, true 24 hour global customer service, an IT system that lets you rebook from your phone for many IRROPS misconnects, included soft drinks, crisps, and biscuits for all on short haul flights more than an hour, and an employee group empowered and willing to go beyond the contract of carriage minimum in terms of resolving customer issues. (And their annual 'please don't unionize' profit-sharing bonus to employees has been in the 10% range in recent years)

alex67500

And don't get me started with their engines

icegirl

Is this a genuine retirement or has he got something else up his sleeve?

Will he become a non-exec or like Tim Clark at EK stay on as some sort of advisory capacity?

Go into teaching? I know he does tour around giving talks/interviews at UK universities.

Has he actually got a new job lined up? He is known to be close friends with Michael O’Leary or join Norwegian to straighten them out.

crazy8534

..and spinning like a whisk..?

So sorry to see old yellow vest passed over for the upgrade. Didums

PUCCI GALORE

You wicked boy! I actually thought that you meant that and had my hairbrush set to lethal mode!

onemoretrip

On the ABC News website: "IAG’s share price on the London stock exchange rose more than 1% to 625.20 pounds after the announcement."

alex67500

625.20 pence maybe, otherwise there will be some VERY happy shareholders

Closed at 634.600 (+2.62% )

Ancient Observer

Lifetime free F travel for self and family for Board is not to be sniffed at.
Unlike his staff, who had lifetime travel taken away.

HIDDY

Watch out Willie!!

DFB_london

Wife no 1 has already taken a sizeable divorce settlement it seems.

now I wonder what happens to the 737max letter of intent after June? Does it become an order or just the intention gets dropped?

Ldnn1

I don’t imagine the change will have particular impact on that, unless the IB CEO had been personally quite opposed to it. Ultimately it would have been a board-sanctioned decision.

Of course that doesn’t mean that it will actually lead anywhere, especially given the ever-extending grounding.

Severn40

I suppose he has a number of achievements - namely securing a pretty robust future for BA.

Nevertheless, the obsession with 'superior' investor returns probably has devalued the value/asset of the BA brand. His successor will need to map a tight course that balances shareholder needs with ensuring the right level of investment goes into the business (particularly replacing all those old aircraft) and genuinely growing the business (how much further cost cutting can be realistically achieved?)