Dating Mobility Vouchers Auctions Bingo Lose Weight Franchising Shopping Book Shop Compare Broadband Wine Shop Legal Store FlatShare Cruises Festivals

TWO TESTS OF FIRE FOR BA

CEO: Willie Walsh

Sunday June 28,2009

WILLIE WALSH, chief executive of British Airways, is facing a test of fire this week. On Tuesday, he hits a self-imposed deadline to reach agreement with 40,000 workers on major concessions designed to strengthen the airline. He is asking staff to accept voluntary redudancies, the ending of allowances and a single-offer pay package.

It is by no means a done deal. A compromise had been close with union Unite, but it was highly displeased when BA announced with great fanfare last week that 7,000 workers had opted for part-time working and unpaid leave. By Friday, cabin crew had rejected a draft deal. This raises the prospect that BA could impose the new terms.

Walsh desperately needs to seal a deal. Not just for the airline’s beleaguered finances, but also to avoid a damaging summer strike. He has certainly pulled out all the stops to get there, warning that the very survival of the airline is at stake — which prompted Sir Richard Branson to say it is practically worthless.

This week’s fraught negotiations will not be Walsh’s last test of fire, however. At next month’s annual meeting, shareholders are likely to ask difficult questions about strategy such as why a merger with Iberia has failed to take off despite months of talks. Investors will still be sore from the botched opening of Heathrow’s T5 and last year’s whopping £401 million loss.

It doesn’t seem unreasonable to speculate that they could even call for a new captain at BA, despite some wise gestures from Walsh such as giving up a month’s salary.

SIX MONTHS after its high street death, Woolworths is reborn as an online retailer.

Happily for its new owners Shop Direct, the Woolies website received the cyber-space version of a stampede through the doors when it opened this week. I’m told 250,000 people clicked on to check out the new range, which includes the old favourites like pick ’n’ mix.

But once the nostalgia factor wears thin, the new Woolies has to keep its range relevant and enticing if it wants to notch up another hundred years in business.

I DON’T blame Iraq for televising the auction of some of its oilfields this week. While it may need the expertise of oil majors such as BP, Shell and Exxon, many a country has been stitched up by Big Oil in the past. I for one will be glued to the television to see who will pick up what, as the world’s third biggest oil reserves are carved up.

Amazon.co.uk Widgets