Losses and profits. Spanish settling of accounts at the head of one of Britain’s most venerable companies. Monday, October 12, Alex Cruz, CEO of British Airways (BA), was unceremoniously disembarked by Luis Gallego, the boss of the head holding company IAG (International Airlines Group), which also includes the companies Iberia, Vueling, and Aer Lingus. It is also the boss of the latter – the former Irish national company -, Sean Doyle, who takes the head of BA.
Two Spaniards in an English sky was one too many. Alex Cruz founded and managed the Catalan low cost airline Vueling, before selling it to British Airways. One of its directors was called Luis Gallego. But the latter, who in the meantime left for Iberia, was preferred to his former boss to settle at the top of IAG. Arrived in September, he did not delay to dismiss his ex-boss.
This is not the only reason, however. Alex Cruz arrived at the head of the company in 2016 and created a lot of enmities. In 2017, he had to deal with a huge computer bug that disrupted London’s Heathrow airport for several days. A year later, a customer data breach scandal further tarnished the company’s reputation.
Anticipate the recovery
Then the health crisis swept away everything. Very dependent on business customers and transatlantic traffic, BA has seen its activity collapse by 95% and its losses rise to four billion euros for the first half of 2020 alone. All airlines are in difficulty, but the brutality of the reaction of the company, which announced, without consultation, a plan to lay off a quarter of the workforce (12,000 jobs), earned the CEO the hostility of the staff and the British political class.
This case illustrates the dilemma in which the world of air transport is plunged. He must both fight for his survival, hold out until the resumption of activity (not for three years, according to the experts), but also anticipate this recovery so as not to arrive bloodless and without resources. It is therefore necessary to continue investments and reduce costs, without alienating your staff. Hence the profile of the new boss of British Airways, recognized for his managerial qualities.
It is in this spirit that we must appreciate the agreement between the unions and management, that same Monday, October 12, at Airbus. It provides for nearly 5,000 job cuts in France (and as many in Germany), without redundancies. But this goodwill remains fragile. It depends on the ability of states to support their businesses over time. Beyond 2021, the pilot risks finding himself alone in the midst of the turbulence.
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