Walsh resigning might be good tokenism but BA would be even worse off. The test of who should go is easy. Who were the most senior people who were aware of problems but didnt pass it up the chain,- however uncomfortable it may have been? Those to whom the bad news wasnt passed up to should also ask themselves why. There is something seriously wrong with the upper levels culture at BA and they have to sort that -and quickly. However if you remove the top 3 layers what have you in the way of successors left over from the various culls going back years plus many of the bright younger people who left of their own accord? The answer is a gaping void in succession. As an outsider coming into BA , Willie probably assumed he had several layers of real battle hardened talent below him and has only now learned that he hasnt and he has a real problem.
It is not only the management though who have to get a grip on the realities of year 2008. Other staff have got to give up the belief that nothing should change, that BA can afford less efficient working practices than its competitors. The unions have to give up clinging to the past and believing that they can do best by always ensuring that there are " issues" and threats of industrial action to sour the atmosphere and ensure the management/staff and inter sectional divides, real or imagined, continue.
Right now BA appears to be unloved by many of its staff and a lot of its customers. Customers do not like a sour climate and are simply walking away. They don't care who may or may not be responsible. They want a high quality, reliable and friendly product they can relate to.
The signs are that the airline is coming to a major crunch. If managing it isnt a pleasant experience then staff can't expect good managers to stick around. If good people dont stick around the whirlpool of decline will continue. If that happens the staff will become even more miserable and the customers more hacked off at experiencing the misery.
It is time that management at all levels, the staff and the unions all called a halt to the war. Most are in some ways, by acts or omissions culpable. It is time to design and agree the future ,constructively and away from emotion, threats of industrial action etc. If this isnt done , there will come a day when everyone is standing in a hangar being told that the airline has ceased trading. As many others have found before , it is too late then to say they will work for 6 months without pay and start again from first principles.
It's time to get a grip BA,- and that means EVERYONE in it. Love it or leave it.