British Airways Plc’s new chief executive Willie Walsh signaled a tough stance against striking workers on Tuesday, saying he would not tolerate a repeat of August’s crippling industrial action at London’s Heathrow Airport.
“A very clear message has been given internally within BA that that sort of action cannot and will not be tolerated going forward,” Walsh, who took on the top job last month, told reporters at a Foreign Press Association lunch on Tuesday.
About 700 flights were grounded in August when BA ground staff went on strike in sympathy with sacked workers at the company’s catering firm Gate Gourmet.
Three union members face an internal disciplinary hearing over their involvement in the walkout. A BA spokesman said the inquiry was ongoing and no decision had been made yet whether to sack the workers.
Industrial relations are one of the biggest challenges for Walsh, who is meeting senior union officials during his first months in the top job.
Walsh also said the airline, which launched its first direct flights to Bangalore last month, planned to expand further in India and launch routes to 1 or 2 more cities in the region.
He said India and China remained BA’s most significant long-haul growth markets.
Walsh played down the prospect of BA strengthening its ties with Spain’s Iberia, in which it has a joint 10 percent holding with American Airlines, or growing through consolidation with other carriers.
“We are not active in any way on that position at the moment and I don’t see anything happening in the short to medium term,” Walsh said.
BA also had no plans to invest in U.S. carriers, he said.
The airline last week criticized a tentative deal between the United States and European Union to expand trans-Atlantic aviation services, saying it failed to address restrictions on foreign ownership rules of U.S. airlines.
“BA has nothing to fear from further liberalization,” Walsh said, saying a deal would allow it to fly to some U.S. cities from London’s Heathrow Airport, instead of nearby Gatwick.
He also played down comments made to a local newspaper which said BA was not interested in buying the Airbus A380 double-decker jet, saying it was still talking to both Boeing and Airbus on potential future plane orders.
BA beat expectations with stronger second-quarter earnings earlier this month after a recovery in first-class travel and higher ticket prices helped offset soaring fuel bills but has said it needs to remain focused on continuing to cut costs.