Skift Take
Some old-school companies talk about embracing start-up thinking without knowing what that really means. This, though, is what they wish it looked like in practice.
At first glance, Alex Cruz may seem like an unusual choice to lead British Airways, an iconic flag carrier with a lineage dating to the 1930s
Cruz is an upstart, having helped found Spanish low cost airline Clickair in 2006, an airline part-owed by Iberia. Clickair merged with Vueling three years later, creating one of Europe's more successful discount carriers. Unlike at British Airways, most Vueling customers pay extra for just about everything, from onboard drinks to seat assignments. But base fares can be cheap — often as low as 20 euros, one-way, from Barcelona to London.
After the merger, Cruz became CEO of Barcelona-based Vueling. In 2013, International Airlines Group — owner of British Airways and Iberia — bought a majority stake, and Cruz stayed in charge.
Three years later, the parent company tapped Cruz for a bigger job, naming him CEO of British Airways. That surprised some observers, since Cruz spent much of his leading short-haul, low cost airlines. But British Airways needed his help. The airline, while profitable, was struggling to compete as discounters like EasyJet, Ryanair and Norwegian Air encroached in its markets.
Cruz says his mission is not to turn British Airways into a low-cost airline. But he is charged with making the legacy airline more nimble and cost efficient. In short, he wants to ensure British Airways acts more like a startup.
Cruz has already made some changes. Several months after he took over, British Airways announced plans to charge for food on shorter flights, a move some loyal customers criticized. In the future, Cruz suggested he plans to introduce new self-service elements to the British Airways product.
Skift co-founder and Head of Content Jason Clampet met with Cruz in November to discuss some of the challenges he faces at British Airways.
Note: This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Skift: As we meet in November, you're about seven months into your job. What do you know now that you didn't know in April?
Alex Cruz: That's a great way to put the question. When I came in April, I suspected BA was a large, complex organization that took its time to get stuff done. I can now confirm to you that British Airways is a large, complex organization that takes its time to do things.
We're a very large company anchored on ... old legacy practices. I think that what my time over the last seven months has confirmed is that there is a significant exciting and hard challenge to unlo
