Some scathing words from Michael Winner in today's Sunday Times:
"The most stupid statement I ever heard came from Willie Walsh, chief executive of British Airways. A day before Heathrow’s fiasco opened he stood there on TV and announced terminal 5 would be up and running smoothly from day one and no British Airways customers would ever have more than two people in front of them at the check-in desk.
We know Wee Willie is small, but his brain is obviously diminutive even in relation to his body. What a ridiculous statement to make. Any new venture may well go wrong – although Willie provided magnified meaning to the word “wrong”. And there’s no need to fantasise about how few people will be in front of you at the check-in desk.
The rest is history. Confusion beyond belief. Tens of thousands of lost bags sent to Italy and America for sorting out. Hundreds of BA planes cancelled. Enraged customers. A total catastrophe. Whereupon Wee Willie aka Silly Willie aka Willie Wonka (I misspelt that last word) says, “I’m sorry. The buck stops with me. I take full responsibility.” Then he sacks two of his key executives. So the buck stopped not with Silly Willie, but somewhere down the line.
Polls in The Daily Telegraph and the Evening Standard showed a large majority of readers wanted him to resign, as did the British Airline Pilots’ Association and any sensible person on the planet. But Willie stays on. Why should he give up a highly salaried job just because he’s inept?
Compare that to the chairman of HM Revenue & Customs, Paul Gray, who resigned because a twit employee in Tyne & Wear sent out discs containing people’s personal information. Paul’s a man of honour. Willie stays because, in my view, honour is not his strong card.
As for the nonsense, “No BA passenger will ever have more than two people in front of them at the check-in desk”, I went down last Saturday, 25 days after terminal 5 opened. There were many desks with more than two people in the queue. I’m photographed, at 2.30pm on a quiet day for travellers, standing behind 11 BA customers queuing at check-in B7. You can’t see them all, but, I promise you, there were 11.
When Willie Wonka became BA’s chief executive on October 1, 2005, the company’s shares stood at £3. Last Friday they’d sunk to £2.21. That he remains in the job is beyond belief."