BAA Chief Executive fired

[WHBM]

Seems that the latest baggage fiasco at Heathrow, which led to some pithy comments from up high in government to BAA, has had some fallout. Can we hope for any improvements now ?

Airports Operator boss steps down (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7266481.stm)

[Southernboy]

Not to mention the Greenpeace incursion. My last chat with security staff at LHR produced complaints of staff cuts. Great for profits but.......

[ZFT]

Stephen Nelson will still receive a massive payout for a job 'well done'

[apaddyinuk]

Well he wasnt fired....sadly he will probably get a golden handshake and a thanks for a job well done!!!!

[Skipness One Echo]

"I am immensely proud both of the way the company responded to those challenges, and refocused its efforts to put the passenger first"

Imagine being so crap you actually had to remember to put the customer first.
It's a SERVICE INDUSTRY !!!!

[WHBM]

I think we have to identify a number of issues.

Firstly Stephen Nelson came from Sainsburys and presumably applied even more of a retailer bent to the organisation than previously.

However the recent media issues (overly restrictive security due to short staffing; disgraceful treatment of the BA 777 accident passengers by BAA staff; T4 baggage handling fiasco, etc) have all been on the aviation side.

Lastly Ferrovial HQ have made apparent that they have bitten off more than they can chew, and are looking to "refinance" their huge investment in the financial world (ie sell it off again). The last thing you need at a time like this is the newspaper front pages coninuing to be filled with stories about poor performance in the business. There's already a belief around that nobody from Britain who had a good handle on BAA's background would have paid the price that Ferrovial did for the business.

Things seem to have gone very quiet about advance publicity for T5 opening next month, and the "how marvellous it is going to be" line of last year seems to have been dropped from the mass media.

[emaint2003]

The new guy seems to be ex BA before working for a water company. Maybe at last some aviation professionals maybe coming in to turn this company around

[Andy_S]

Ferrovial HQ have made apparent that they have bitten off more than they can chew, and are looking to "refinance" their huge investment in the financial world (ie sell it off again).

Not exactly true.

Obviously Ferrovial made a big financial commitment in purchasing BAA and it was never any secret that they wanted to refinance their debt on more favourable terms. Nothing abnormal about that in business terms.

Unfortunately, they dillied and dallied and something called the credit crisis happened. And then, just to rub it in, they didn't get the regulatory settlement they wanted. Result - they're heading for Clart Creek at high speed with minimal propulsion.

I've little doubt that Ferrovial wanted to keep BAA together, but having been overtaken by events they may now have little alternative but to flog off one or more of the groups airports.

[Woofrey]

I've little doubt that Ferrovial wanted to keep BAA together, but having been overtaken by events they may now have little alternative but to flog off one or more of the groups airports.

Hmmm, I'm not so sure that breaking it up wasn't always part of their plan and that the Competition Commision findings in due course just might be convenient......but maybe the financing issue will force their hand.

But which one to flog ? Gatwick would probably raise the most cash, but it is a cash cow in itself. Getting rid of Stansted would save a load of investment and political turmoil, plus dealing with the most vociferious operators.....and in reality, if the CC want more competition between airports, then only Stansted will have the capacity to compete with Heathrow in the future.

On the other hand, some of the financials regarding Gatwick in the CAA Regulatory documents ( on the CAA website ) are very ambitious, dare one say that they are being priced up to facilitate a sale ???

[Nipper1011]

Spot on Woofrey; can it be a coincidence that the BAA corporate presence at LGW is in the process of being moved to other BAA London airports and/or made redundant?

[roverman]

Perhaps with this latest departure from BAA the industry will wake up to the fact that although retail contributes a great deal of revenue to airport operators it is not the principal business activity, and that recruiting senior managers almost exclusively from retail backgrounds does not inject the required expertise to run a highly regulated and complex facility like an international airport. The retail industry does not have the technical, safety management, and long-term infrastructure planning needs of the air transport world. Airports are not shopping centres with runways, they are highly complex processors of people, aircraft, surface transport and products which just happen to generate a disproportionate amount of income from retailing and concessions. The big risks (those that could terminally damage an airport business), lie in the realms of safety and operations, not retailing. The expertise to understand and manage those issues needs to be foremost in an airport boardroom.

[Scottie Dog]

Roverman - yes most definitely.

Perhaps would be a good idea to apply the same to Manchester - or am I barking up the wrong tree??

Bring back Sir Gill and his colleagues!!