Articles tagged “british airways”

Soon, the legroom on British Airways short-haul flights will rival that of its low-cost carrier competition.

Many of the world's airlines know they're not as good as retailers like Amazon in targeting offers for individual passengers. A lot of carriers want to improve, so they can get the right offer in front of the right person at the right time. But it won't be easy, since airlines often have clunky computer systems.

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.

International Airlines Group likely has no choice but to try to take on Norwegian in London, Barcelona and elsewhere. The company likely learned its lesson from Ryanair and EasyJet.

Two-tiered pay scales may seem like a good idea in the beginning. But what happens six years later, when one employee group earns far more than another, even though both do the same job? British Airways is learning how hard it is to keep everyone happy.

Who says airlines and suppliers can't innovative? Every year, they file for many unusual patents to protect their intellectual property. The problem? Most of the ideas never hit the market.

Willie Walsh is not afraid to make decisions that anger employee unions and disappoint some passengers. That may seem like poor strategy, but it's a big part of the reason that International Airlines Group is in better shape than most of Europe's other airlines. Sometimes, an executive must make unpopular decisions to ensure the long-term success of a business.

Over the years British Airways has quietly built up a substantial package holidays business and parent company IAG is reaping the benefits. Whether this can be replicated at other parts of the business, is another matter.

China is a long way from being an open market, but for carriers in China and the UK, this is welcome news. And since it means more flights, and more competition, it could lead to sightly lower fares.

With the UK government seemingly determined to sever all ties with the European Union, things don’t look great for the travel industry. For the time being there’s not much companies can do but hope for the best.