Willie Walsh says BA brand will succeed if it stays “relevant”
British Airways chief executive Willie Walsh believes that the airline and its brand has a solid future if it can “stay relevant” to customers.
Speaking to Marketing Week at the official launch of the new First Class cabin, Walsh remained bullish about customer warmth towards BA in the face of continuing strike action by cabin crew members of the Unite union.
He said that the disruption was being caused by a small minority of BA’s overall staff and that the vast majority were keen for the airline to see its fortunes restored.
Walsh said that BA was unlikely to carry an over-arching large scale branding campaign for a while but would “when the time felt right.”
Talking about the tie-up with Iberia, which is subject to regulatory approval, Walsh said that he could forsee co-ordinated branding campaigns in future.
New head of global marketing Kerris Bright has just taken up her position at BA.
The First class cabin was introduced in February this year and is currently available on four aircraft. The airline plans to overhaul 73 aircraft to offer the cabin. It was developed by BA’s in-house team and the design consultancies Tangerine and Forpeople.
Walsh said that the £100m investment “demonstrates our commitment to products and services. We try to develop what customers expect from us, which is an exclusive experience.”
