[Anonymous]

[TerryMcManus24]

Recon this could be “Our Willies” last stand.

He has been voted a positive influence in aviation but could it be that this tie up was wrong……

Costing IAG 3 Million Euros a day…ouch

Thousands more passengers hit by Iberia strikes..

Iberia had said it has found alternatives for nearly 38,000 customers affected by the latest week-long strike by disgruntled workers.

The Spanish carrier said 40,000 travellers were affected by the strikes which are running from yesterday until March 8.

It said new travel dates or refunds will be offered to the 2,000 passengers it was unable to accommodate.

Iberia urged passengers to download boarding passes from its website, http://www.iberia.com to avoid queuing at airports and said customers downloading boarding passes to their phones would have priority access to security control.

Nearly 1,300 flights have been grounded with the strikes affecting Iberia, Vueling, Air Nostrum and Iberia Express.

The February and March strikes are the biggest in the airline’s history and cost IAG 3 million euros a day, chief executive of Iberia’s parent company IAG, Willie Walsh said, while also causing disruption to other airlines.

Staff are protesting against the loss of 4,500 jobs and salary cuts.

Unions for Iberia staff have launched a scathing attack on Willie Walsh.

The International Transport Workers’ Federation said Walsh, CEO of Iberia’s parent IAG, has turned not just the entire airline against him but “it looks like, an entire country against him”

Unite union’s general secretary, Len McLuskey, said he was backing Iberia staff with a giant banner outside the union’s office in London Heathrow Airport – reading Déjà vu Willie Walsh, IAG:

We are all Iberia, IAG: Iberia somos todos .

He added: “If Willie Walsh thinks British Airways staff will keep quiet while he attacks their colleagues in Iberia he is wrong. We all support those threatened by Walsh’s reckless plans.
The message from Britain to IAG is clear:

We are all Iberia.”

[CXDiamond]

It always was a marriage of convenience and nothing more. Perhaps it’s time for the divorce.

BA may have a chance alone, saddled with IB that chance fades significantly.

[FirstTraveller]

BA management is very stupid for adding IB to its portfolio. They should have bought or merged with SWISS instead when they had the chance to do that.

LX is the jewel of the LH Group. It’s generating huge profit for the germans, who bought it very cheaply.

[sparkyflier]

Or even KLM for that matter. The opportunity was there and the management, who I suspect come from very “close knit families”, did not go for it/screwed it up.
KLM would have been a superb match up.Just imagine a BA/KL/LX combo!

[Bucksnet]

Never should of got together in the first place. Should be split up ASAFP.

[NameRemoved-18/12/14]

Tell me about it…

[AnthonyDunn]

@ sparkyflyer – 05/03/2013 17:21 GMT

Can you remind me and others, did the BA/KL tie up fail because of pricing issues and respective shares of the prospective merged entity, or did the European Commission stymie the merger? Or was it both?

I do have a recollection of BA being left jilted somewhat at the alter – but I could be entirely mistaken.

[EDITED] Answering my own question, from the Independent dated 22 September 2000:

“British Airways and the Dutch carrier KLM last night abandoned talks on a £4bn merger, blaming political and regulatory hurdles. The surprise announcement, made after the close of the London and Amsterdam stock markets, leaves BA searching for an alliance partner at a time of intensifying competition in the world airline market.

Rod Eddington, BA’s chief executive, said the key obstacle had been agreeing a structure which would have given BA control of the merged airline at the same time as guaranteeing KLM’s traffic rights, which are granted on the basis that it is Dutch-owned….”

The article continued to say that the US aviation authorities had also made it clear that they would block any proposed BA/KL deal unless and until there was an open skies agreement between the UK and USA. One might possibly describe that as extremely muscular American trade diplomacy.

So it seems that it was not just down to BA that that particular deal fell apart. Can we please start having some acknowledgement from certain quarters that the fact BA’s previous attempts to do deals came to naught were not necessarily owing to their own conduct. A little balance and perspective anyone?

[millionsofmiles]

IB never really fitted together with BA.

The standards of IB are so low that it is difficult to go lower in any area. Exception is the age of the hardware.
Service inside and out of the plane are bad, just read comments and reviews in skytraxx.
And financially, IB with its unreliable and unmotivated personnel (too proud to serve) will pull IAG down.

[BigDog.]

They should split but I doubt if it will happen because…

a) Walsh’s ego would not allow such a public demonstration of his abject failure. Walsh would have to exit first.

b) Whilst tied in the money-pit that is IB has guaranteed funding.

c) Who in their right minds would want to buy IB part – or even take it on as a freebee? The tangible asset value is questionable whilst the liabilities appear fairly open ended. Neither the Spanish govt. nor Bankia would have the inkling/wherewithal/funding to take on more toxic problems. It would, IMO be far cheaper to start from scratch.

[AnthonyDunn]

@ BigDog. – 06/03/2013 09:47 GMT

With your background, what is the possibility (or legality?) of IAG sacking the entire striking staff of IB and starting to recruit from scratc

[EDITED] For the avoidance of doubt, this is not a suggestion or my advocating this course of action, it is an enquiry.

[christopheL]

AD
I’m afraid your idea is 100% unrealistic because continental Europe does not have the same rules as UK re sacking people from their job. It takes time and it costs money.
I’m also afraid BA came too late and bought the only one airline still on the market. IB was probably the worst choice for BA but it was the only one remaining.
There are many BA frequent travellers on this forum and I’m sure a lot of them never flew IB and will do anything they can to avoid flying with them.
My opinion is that BA and IB have nothing in common and that BA management won’t be able to make what they had in mind IMO, ie a feeder for BA flights and a leisure airline for UK passengers.

[MarcusUK]

A match with KLM would never have worked with Walsh’s style and brand of management. KLM are totally apart from BA in every way.
KLM is run more democratically, and conflicts rarely occur in Dutch Management, especially after the history of BA and the way it has dealt with change so poorly.

Clearly, financially and in terms of image and PR, Iberia was a mistake to buy, or merge with. Walsh’s style will not win over staff, or manage change effectively. He would be better working with O’leary, there is a match of approach and attitude.

990 Million loss for BA and Iberia, and seems more to come…?
No wonder the Eu’s other strong Airline groups continue to forge ahead, compared.

Shame for BA, with a far better image and reputation than awful depressing Iberia. Cllearly a poor strategic decision, and those who made it are responsible for the situation now, easily foreseen ahead with Iberia.

[AnthonyDunn]

@ MarcusUK – 06/03/2013 14:25 GMT

If you look at the date of the “Indy” article I cite, it is September 2000 and well before WW came on the scene at BA. So the suggestion that his view of corporate culture etc and how this would have related to KL’s self-view at the time of the then proposed merger is, I am afraid, a complete non-sequitur.

[EDITED]
Further, your posting above is also long on criticism about WW’s management style but remarkably terse about the attitude of the UGT union (and five other unions) towards the cash outflow at IB. Actually, there is precisely no comment and/or criticism of the attitude of the Spanish unions which has been to refuse to amend working practices and staffing levels for years. If they had been so prepared, IB would simply not be in its current situation.

As I have observed elsewhere, the UGT and others have routinely appealed to a nakedly and utterly petulant anti-British mindset which reveals just how few clothes their “emperor” really has. They have also relied upon the previous Socialist government to ensure that no restructuring/job losses took place on its watch – even though it no longer had any fiduciary interest in the business.

The IB/UGT birds are coming home to roost and they are being shot out of the sky and straight into Ryanair’s pot, one-by-one. There is no chance that any of those UGT staff will get taken on or receive anything approaching their IB T&Cs under O’Blarney.

Any possibility of a shade more balanced, nuanced and reasonable portrayal of the situation?

[VintageKrug]

….and yet MarcusUK how do you explain the chart below:

http://uk.finance.yahoo.com/echarts?s=IAG.L#symbol=iag.l;range=5y;compare=af.pa;indicator=volume;charttype=area;crosshair=on;ohlcvalues=0;logscale=off;source=undefined;

….showing how in an industry beset with unprecedented challenges, BA’s share price is down just marginally over the past five years (2008: £2.53, 2013: £2.44) while AF/klm is down almost 50% (2008: €16.45, 2013: €8.30)

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