British Airways, who are a brand subsidiary of International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (LON:IAG) have confirmed that Chief Executive Willie Walsh will be leaving the firm.
Walsh is set to depart on March 26, before fully retiring from the board at the end of June.
IAG have said that Luis Gallego who is head of Iberia will be succeeding him as the head of IAG.
Walsh’s career with IAG spawns back since 1979 where he joined Aer Lingus as a pilot, since then he has led the Irish carrier between 2001 and 2005. Notably, Walsh held a senior position at British Airways, leading them between 2005 and 2011.
He has held his CEO position at IAG for almost 10 years, having taken up the role since 2011.
IAG currently owns nearly 600 aircraft, flying to 268 destinations worldwide, carrying around 113 million passengers every year. It was created by the merger between British Airways and Spain’s Iberia in 2011.
IAG Chair Antonio Vazquez commented: “Willie has led the merger and successful integration of British Airways and Iberia to form IAG. Under Willie’s leadership IAG has become one of the leading global airline groups.
“Willie has established a strong management team and I am delighted Luis will be promoted from this team to succeed Willie as CEO. Luis started his career in the airline industry in 1997 with Air Nostrum and, since 2014, he has been CEO of Iberia where he has led a profound transformation of this airline.”
“The board is confident Luis is the right person to lead IAG in the next stage of its development and we look forward to working closely with Luis in his new role,” Vazquez finished.
Walsh departs leaving IAG in good hands
IAG have seen a turbulent few months, however Walsh will leave his role in good hands.
The firm has already announced the purchase of Europa Air back in November, for a reported €1 billion, this gives IAG further exposure into the Spanish market.
AG are set to initially retain the Air Europa brand, as the company looks to operate as a standalone profit centre within the Iberia airline business.
Europa Air does have a reputable name in the travel industry, as they fly to 69 domestic and international locations including European routes and long haul routes such as North America and the Caribbean.
Having carried 11.8 million passengers with its fleet of 66 aircraft during 2018, the Spanish private airline achieved full-year revenue of €2.1 billion and an operating profit of €100 million.
However, a few weeks later the firm did cut its medium term profit and capacity expectations.
The heavyweight airline company scaled back profit and capacity forecasts for the next three years, hitting its outlook for earnings per share but potentially providing relief for rivals in a weak global economy.
IAG said available seat kilometres, a measure of passenger-carrying capacity, was estimated to grow by 3.4% a year between 2020 and 2022, compared to a previous forecast of 6% growth a year for the 2019-2023 period.
IAG gives stable performance in a tough airline industry
IAG did see their profits take a hit in their third quarter despite BA strikes.
International Airlines Group said that the industrial action by the pilots, in addition to other disruption, impacted operating profit by €155 million during the quarter.
International Airlines Group added that it expects 2019 operating profit before exceptional items to be €215 million lower than 2018.
“Passenger unit revenue is expected to be slightly down at constant currency and non-fuel unit costs are expected to improve at constant currency,” International Airlines Group added.
In a year which has seen the collapse of Thomas Cook (LON:TCG) and the near collapse of Fastjet PLC (LON:FJET), Walsh has given some solidity to IAG and can be pleased with the state of affairs at the firm.
Shares of IAG trade at 624p (+1.05%). 9/1/20 11:17BST.
