BRITISH AIRWAYS (BA) chief executive Willie Walsh yesterday shook up his senior management team in the wake of the Terminal 5 (T5) debacle at Heathrow airport with the dismissal of the two top executives responsible for the move.
Mr Walsh has insisted that he will not resign following the disastrous opening of the £4.3 billion (€5.3 billion) T5, in spite of accepting full responsibility.
BA said two of the 10-person executive management team - Gareth Kirkwood, operations director, and David Noyes, customer services director - had left the group with immediate effect. It said "the departures follow the airline's move to Terminal 5".
BA said it planned to appoint a chief operations officer to combine both roles and was looking for candidates internally and externally.
Mr Kirkwood and Mr Noyes had been with the airline for more than 20 years and had played the central roles in preparing BA for the transfer to T5.
The move to T5, the first time most of BA's operations at its global hub will be under one roof, was presented as the airline's chance to transform the customer experience at Heathrow and to allow BA and the British Airport Authority (BAA) to rebuild Heathrow's reputation for customer service.
However, the terminal's first 11 days were marred by operational problems resulting in more than 500 cancelled flights and huge delays for travellers, plus the mislaying of luggage.
Mr Kirkwood, operations director since October 2006, had been given responsibility for the airline's readiness. In the latter stages he had sole responsibility for the move to T5 and for the airline's relationship with BAA.
Mr Noyes, previously BA's head of Heathrow from December 2004, became director of customer services in October last year.
"There's a feeling at BA that some of the managers did not fully communicate problems during the planning process of T5," said John Strickland, director of aviation specialist JLS Consulting Ltd. "I don't think this takes the pressure off Walsh. He will know that people are still expecting him to deliver."
The disruption cost at least £16 million, according to the airline, the building's sole occupant, prompting Mr Walsh to agree to meetings with investors and to delay moving a second wave of services until June 5th, with the move likely to span several months. Mr Walsh said on Monday he would ask company lawyers to examine whether a compensation claim against Heathrow operator BAA was feasible. BAA is a unit of Spanish builder Grupo Ferrovial. - ( Financial Times service/Bloomberg )
