JayPee, you put a interesting gloss on WW's tenure as CEO of Aer Lingus. YOu are quite right to state that the Irish government would not support the changes he wanted to make at the carrier.
It has become a sort of folklore now whether Bertie Ahern did actually accuse WW of "attempting to steal state assets", when Walsh proposed a management buyout of Aer Lingus. So far the Irish government has done everything it can to block a takeover of the carrier by RyanAir. But why did WW put Aer Lingus into the low cost model in the first place, if he did not anticipate that happening?
It is well known at that time Aer Lingus had huge cash reserves, which bascially was the airlines only value. Aer Lingus was never going to survive in the same pond as RyanAir, so it seems that if the management buyout led by Walsh had gone ahead, a few people would have made a lot of money.
Far from British Airways being made lean and mean to survive the recession, the airline is being gutted like a kipper. The heart is being torn out of the carrier and what is left manned by a demoralised workforce, will be deeply unattractive to anyone who previously aspired to travel with the airline. Like Aer Lingus, BA is being set on a road to ruin. Apart from nonsensical distractions lke the LCY/JFK route, the airline is being stripped down and demolished like an old cruise liner on Alang beach, India.
The forthcoming strike will be successful as most crew see no future in the airline. They have nothing to lose. The future if the imposition sticks is no promotion, less pay, inferior T&C's...basically a dead end job. Walsh has guaranteed a huge YES vote and a high turnout. He has completely mismanaged the situation, but will he dodge the bullet yet again as he did with the T5 fiasco? I guess a couple of directors are already being lined up as sacrificial lambs. Wait and see on Monday, no one from BA management will want to talk to the Press. Willie will be on his own.