BCAL Negotiatons
Refreshing to see so many tributes to a controversial character who provided many pilots and other crews with much-appreciated work, but who must have left a degree of hardship in his wake.
By the late 1980s Air Europe had become a formidable rival to my airline, BCAL, on short-haul. With the privatisation of BA, our boss, Adam Thomson, had warned HMG around 1986 that BCAL would not survive unless we were allowed to operate passenger schedules out of LHR. That didn't happen, and by the summer of 1987 we were pretty much up for sale or merger.
That was when we had the infamous summer visit from Mr Goodman, who was evidently unimpressed by our modus operandi. That, of course, included running most of our own support services such as catering, engineering, ground handling, uniforms, et cetera. It was clear that all that kind of stuff would be swept away if he was to invest a bean in BCAL, and that led to a headline in one newspaper:
BCAL's NOT WILD ABOUT HARRY
Fortunately for many BCAL employees, Harry walked away, and by Christmas of 1987 Adam Thomson had negotiated a take-over by BA in which our jobs and pensions were protected. But we sometimes wonder what would have happened to Air Europe and BCAL had the tough East-Ender and the benign Scot done a deal. RIP to them both.
EDIT
On reflection (and a bit of research on the 'net..), the negotiations involving several kinds of proposed merger between all or part of BCAL and Air Europe/ILG had been going on since mid-1986, so the date of Harry Goodman's high-profile visit to BCAL's Gatwick HQ may have been earlier than stated above. I'm reminded that BA's proposals to take over BCAL had been threatened with the possibility of an inquiry by the MMC (Monopolies and Mergers Commission). That obviously strengthened Harry Goodman's negotiating hand.
Last edited by Chris Scott; 21st Mar 2018 at 22:55.