Willie Walsh story

[overstress]

There is a rumour that allegedly, WW will feature in a story in a UK Sunday 'scandal sheet' tomorrow :ooh:

[Bronx]

Wille Walsh shock (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=/opinion/2008/05/17/dl1702.xml)

Calls for Willie Walsh to resign (http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/columnists/article3953849.ece)

[gijoe]

Brain,

That is possibly the most perceptive and honest post I have seen on this site.

Well done!

G

[wheelie my boeing]

Profits were up due to cost-cutting all over the place. ROCE is poor, and profits are almost irrelivant when ROCE is poor. T5 was a mess. He isn't paid to mess up things like that. Sure you can say "he has learned" etc, but a person in his position shouldn't screw it up in the first place!
It is fine to learn your lessons when in lower management but in his position he should be smart and wise enough NOT to make mistakes. T5 was a disaster waiting to happen and staff were telling him. Completely useless.

[BOAC]

Wrong thread, Bronx - this is about "There is a rumour that allegedly, WW will feature in a story in a UK Sunday 'scandal sheet' tomorrow".

Any mods around?

[FlyingTom]

Brain you are right.

He should have stayed a mortal pilot, he has clearly overstretched himself.

[45989]

Tom..........Management Consultant or PPL?
Perhaps both!

[parabellum]

"The Command Training brings out so-called assertiveness skills, and heigh ho, let's bang the drum about our opinions on those long sectors when here's not much to do but whinge about pay, allowances, rosters and of course, the Management!"

As eny fule will no, you really can't expect to go from a very well used terminal to a brand new and UNTRIED terminal in one big move and hope that all will run according to plan, very foolish and you don't have to be a pilot to spot that one Brain.

There are ground handling experts out there so please, would it not have been better to start off by moving, say, twenty flights a day for a few days and gradually increasing the number until you hit a log jam and then give yourself an opportunity to identify the problems? Very easy to be wise after the event but to even imagine that BA could pull off such a huge move as they tried, in one hit, without significant problems is naive in the extreme.

I wonder if the two lads that got sacked expressed reservations about the one-big-hit-move or if they really thought it could be done?

[PPRuNeUser0183]

Fair play to Willie. Say what you like, but turning down a wedge like that must be a bitter pill to swallow indeed. He still has his dignity, and his job.

[apaddyinuk]

I dont think the "shock" article is referring to anything related to the company...more like he has been caught with his pants down!

But at the mo its just rumour.

[banana9999]

Blimey. I thought this bonus story would have set alight PPrune!

12 posts for someone that has donated £700,000 to BA.

Re the point about cost-cutting above - well he has just cut another 700k

From memory, this is the first time a FT100 directly has turned down a bonus because he didn't think he deserved it.

However, it may just be "deferred" rather than not paid ever. Does anyone know?

[banana9999]

But it is £700k profit - not income


Anyway - what's the point of your post?

[Hand Solo]

Rod Eddington refused a bonus during his time as CEO and he hadn't even made a Horlicks on the scale Willie Walsh has so that rather puts this 'magnanimous' act in context. I think it's far from clear that this was even an entirely voluntary act. It was reported recently that one of the largest shareholders (Standard Life I think) had made it clear to the board that payment of the bonus would be unacceptable after the T5 debacle. When the CEO and quite possibly the Chairman are in a precarious position it pays to listen to your investors.

[cockney steve]

After tax and other stoppages, the residue of "700K" would be a mere bagatelle in the overall scheme of "fat-cat Willie's" income.

A shrewd bit of PR, that's all!

[Skylion]

He deserves every penny! Running a global business of the complexity of BA with the the problems of the global and national economy, the huge needs for capital expenditure plus dealing increasing competition and soaring fuel costs and staff groups snapping at your heels, is a 24/7 , 365 days a year occupation. You don't walk away at 5pm and forget about it. It is there demanding your attention every waking minute. And seemingly for little thanks or appreciation from those whose livelihoods you are trying to protect. There is cynicism all around ,- even when you give up £ 700k! There must be moments when he thinks "Sod it,- and them all". Wouldn't you?

[Willie Wash]

The Wacky Willie story rolls on as he rolls into the Highcourt with BALPA> You have to give it to the man, single handly ripping the heart and soul out of a national icon......it won't be long now till it's all over, the flight groundings have started.

[Hand Solo]

There is cynicism all around ,- even when you give up £ 700k!

And in an almost poetic example of why there is cynicism all around, the latest hot poop from Chief Financial Officer Keith Williams today........

wait for it.........

..... Willie didn't actually give up his bonus at all as he wasn't entitled to one! It was, however, too difficult to correct the press once they'd got hold of the idea that he had voluntary foregone his bonanza.

How very convenient.

[Beerbelly]

Excellent post skylion. Hopefully this time a pro-Willie post will be allowed to stay, but don't bet on it!

[lexoncd]

WW has imho made some serious errors as did the infamous two who left. The failure in many ways was to open T5 with minimum costs V training/preparation. Had T5 opened and all was well but the accounts showed a cost of £x million more what would have been said.

Dictatorial Management can be good in certain organisations in other a disaster. You decide what BA needs...

I think £700K is a small amount for the responsibility but the bottom line is there are share options too plus many other perks in later life...pension?

As for a story on his personal life I care not what he does so long as it doesn't interfere with the running of BA. I wish the media would stop the witch hunt on public figures. Do we want an MP or any public figure wh hasn't put a oot wrong in their life?

Let BA get on with the job in hand in the challenging times ahead.

[Megaton]

But did he actually trigger his bonus in the first place or is this another example of BA management spin?

Answers on a postcard!

[FlyingTom]

Where are all you journo's when there is a real story???

WILLIE DID NOT HEROICALLY TURN TURN DOWN HIS BONUS, HE NEVER TRIGGERED IT. Print that.

This man has has no dignity, he's still perpetuating the myth.

Surely nearly everyone is fed up with fat cat bonuses and the drive for mindless huge company profits at the expense of the customer. This glimmer of an honourable act has sadly and predictably turned out to be spin.

[Hulkomaniac]

Do you not think it fairer to presuppose:

1. There is so much bias and anti -WW feeling on here that he would not get a fair hearing if St Peter were to post!

2. It's just possible that the journos DID do their research, and hence the rumour of WW having turned down someting which was not on offer is b0llocks.

3. If the above rumour is true, then that would be a huge story, and presumably our investigative journos would be on it.

[PartickThistleNil]

Flying Tom and Hand Solo,

He was entitled to a bonus.

The £700,000 figure that has been quoted everywhere was the maximum amount it could have been, but that doesn't mean that it was definitely going to be that.

The fact that staff are only going to receive 80 per cent of the bonus suggests that all the targets were not met. This would have applied to Willie Walsh as well, and he also has personal targets to meet on top of the business targets for all staff.

He did turn it down.

[Bucket]

What we all do behind the privacy of our net cutains in Acacia ave is a matter for our own intergrity. It is sordid and distasteful to delve into these matters; so it sells a few extra copies and then we all forget about it. Max Mosely for example. I really don't care nor do I wish to know. This gossip mongering is pathetic. Get a life people.

What WW does at BA is important since it affects the lives and livelyhoods of many. What he does at home or wherever is up to him.


:hmm:

[PAXboy]

Irrespective of what the bonus would have been WW did not take it - because it would have shortened his overall contract time at BA, due to the adverse publicity and reaction of shareholders/media.

Remember that he is playing a long and clever game and doing very well at it. He is only 47 years old and will need to earn a bit more yet before retiring in the style he would like.

Whether he leaves BA in one year or five, he will go with a laurel wreath on his head and gold stuffed in his pockets for having 'saved' BA. His contribution to the mess will be ignored. This will happen for all the usual reasons, not least that the main board have to save their faces - and backsides - by pretending that they hired the right man and gave him the right instructions. In all of this, the Board and their principle shareholders (across the last 15 years or so) appear to have got away with it.

Lastly, don't forget that MANY other corporations (across the whole spectrum of enterprise) are in EXACTLY the same situation. Which is to say that they are managing to keep things ticking over but have so badly reduced staff and got rid of the right people that - if a big project or disaster comes along - they will fail. The penny pinching of the past 20 years is now starting to come home to roost.

[Captain Jumbo]

Unfortunately, that penny pinching, from the so-called Government down to all the witless fools who have borrowed more than they can afford will affect us all. The oil price alone is going to do for a lot more airlines and the jobs of a lot more of our friends and colleagues along the way. I doubt there is any good news to come out of this - unless it be a Tory win in Crewe. Not for the politics, just to watch Gordon's face and listen to more incoherent mumbling!

Willie is just looking after himself, by looking after his shareholders. The latter is his job, and the former is something I wager we all do.

[Capt Pit Bull]

"The Willie Walsh Story" sounds like it should be something done by the Comic Strip.

"She's got an apple? I want a ****ing gun!"

pb

[Hand Solo]

PartickThistleNil - Perhaps you should speak to Keith Williams, the CFO, who said yesterday in Waterworld, categorically, in front of a large audience, that Willie was not offered a bonus and did not turn down a bonus.

[PC767]

Mr Solo.

The wretched Walsh wears teflon. I like the suggestion that he was never entitled to a bonus but I like to be certain of the evidence. Was this hearsay? Were you present or can the information be reliably confirmed. I read elsewhere that the alleged weekend story about Walsh was delayed because he is basking in excellent publicity over the bonus refusal.

[Hand Solo]

The information was revealed in a staff presentation on the financial results. I was not present but got the information from someone who was. Apparently the CFO was questioned on this specific matter by several attendees to be sure there was no misunderstanding but he was quite clear that the press had got hold of the wrong end of the stick and Willy hadn't turned down his bonus. The CFO is Keith Williams.

[Charizard]

I was not present.....but got the information from someone who was

I remain sure that if this is the case the press will let us all know, because it will be a human interest story. In the meantime, it smacks of the flap reduction (or not, or when, or how...) of the 777.
Perhaps we should all contact Keith Williams?

Dear Keith, I am an interested contributor to PPrune. My fellow contributor, a Captain (?) Hand Solo says that a mate of his told him that you said Willie Walsh was never offered a bonus this year, so apparently he didn't actually turn one down. Please can you confirm this?

Perhaps you could supply Keith's email, or better still, since you are so knowledgeable about the intricacies of BA policy, email the man yourself and then cut and paste his reply?

I shan't hold my breath.

[Hand Solo]

Wasn't 'my mate' that he told, it was the assembled crowd of staff who'd all come along for the annual financial results presentation in Waterworld. Or maybe there's just a huge conspiracy.....:}

I won't be holding my breath waiting for the press to acknowledge that they jumped to conclusions and published the wrong story.

If you want the CFOs email I'll PM it to you, don't really consider it fair to publish it here.

[PartickThistleNil]

Hand Solo,

I think we'll just have to agree to disagree.

I think what Keith meant was that Walsh was not offered a bonus because he went to the chairman a few weeks earlier and said he did not wish to take one. That has been widely reported.

As he was not then offered one, he couldn't turn down that non-existent offer.

He was entitled to a bonus. The criteria is laid down every year in the report and accounts, and much of this criteria was met.

[lexoncd]

Its pretty simple with the bonus figures.

Ba either hit the taget in whichcase he was entitled to a bonus but declined it.

or

BA didn't hit the target in whcih case he wasn't entitled to a bonos and therefore won't be receiving one.

They had an operating margin of 7.1% not the 10% reported?

[Hand Solo]

PNL - if Keith meant that then he's been getting some communication lessons from Gareth Kirkwood. Telling the board you are not going to accept a bonus is to all intents and purposes the same as turning down a bonus, in which case the newspapers were essentially correct in their reporting. If he feels it necessary to apologise for the press reporting an incorrect story then it appears something is amiss. I do not know where Willies previous decision not to accept a bonus was widely reported but it was certainly not in the financial press, the mainstream broadsheets or the internal company comms as nobody I know had previously read that. I had read that Standard Life had told the board that paying Walsh a bonus would be unacceptable, which is a different thing.

[PartickThistleNil]

HS

A quick search reveals,

Daily Telegraph:
"I spoke to the chairman [Martin Broughton] a number of weeks ago and told him I thought it would be inappropriate in the context of Terminal 5 because I'd said I would take responsibility,'' Mr Walsh said.


Guardian:
The chairman said: "Willie and I talked about this a few weeks ago, long before we got gratuitous advice from the media."


Even the Daily Mirror managed to pick it up:
"I told the chairman two weeks before the pay committee was due to meet I thought it would be inappropriate to take my bonus"

[Hand Solo]

And the dates of those articles are? 17th May for the first two, which is a full day after the press published what Keith Williams now claims is an incorrect story about Walsh turning down his bonus. Having been inadvertently spun in a good light is he likely to correct them?

[PartickThistleNil]

17 May.

I said: 'That has been widely reported'.

I'm not sure I get your point. I didn't say it was reported weeks ago.

[PartickThistleNil]

Again,

I've already said, my interpretation of what Keith said is different to yours.

The only incorrect part of the story is the Walsh would have got £700,000. He wouldn't have, as I've already said.

[Tigger_Too]

Perhaps we should all contact Keith Williams?

Dear Keith, I am an interested contributor to PPrune. My fellow contributor, a Captain (?) Hand Solo says that a mate of his told him that you said Willie Walsh was never offered a bonus this year, so apparently he didn't actually turn one down. Please can you confirm this?

[email protected] should do the trick.

[KeepUpWithTheMonkey]

'Quote' from Keith Williams on BA Talking point (electronic Forum).

"There was no bonus figure as Willie and the Chairman had already agreed that it was inappropriate to consider it."

[45989]

Tom........Journo?, doubtful ppl! Certainly not even a trainee management consultant!!!!!!!!!!

[PC767]

Originally the bonus was set on achieving three factors with a minimum payment for each.

the first was the profit margin worth a minimum of £500
the second was customer satisfaction worth a minimum of £250
the third was punctuality worth a minimum of £250

turns out the profit margin we were aiming for wasn't 10% but 10.5%
we achieved 10.4%, but the board were feeling kind and distributed a lower figure of £35million lowering the minimum payment to £400.

we didn't achieve customer satisfaction, although I don't know how this was measured I would suggest events in the last year speak for themselves.

we didn't achieve the punctuality target.

So from a potential £1000 bonus I will recieve the £500 goal reduced to £400. £33.33 for every month of suffering under walsh's regime of cuts and bearing the abuse of our customers on his behalf. before tax and NI.

Still when questioned at a cabin crew forum by crew who stated they were sick 'n' tired of apologizing for the lack of product, lateness, lost luggage and unfit ife he replied 'thats what you get paid for'. £33 a month - stuff it.

[Willie Wash]

Great post PC767....Exciting news for animal lovers. Primates have been filmed using a sophisticated “tool kit” to dig termites out of their nest. The videos show the British Airways PR managers using a big stick, stripped of its leaves, to tunnel a hole deep into the nest. The administrators then dig away at the mound with theirhands and feet, before pushing a much thinner twig, with a frayed end, into the hole, and pulling out the insects that havecrawled on to it. The film, secretly recorded in the Grand Duchy by a team from the Thick Planck Institute in Mevagissey, is believed to be the first toshow Corporate PR bureaucrats systematically using more than one tool to accomplish a particular task. “They’ll betelling us how to do our jobs next” mused BA Hero Pilot Burkhill. Isn’t nature wonderful?

[Joetom]

Nice post PC767.
.
Take Tax and NI out of all that loot and it looks even more Meek !!!

[Mick Stability]

The man's deceit knows no bounds. Just wait to see what he intends doing to the pilots. His vision for the future of British Airways is bleak indeed for the people who deliver the safe operation of his aircraft everyday. The sort of people that his own internal report credits with saving hundreds of lives aboard BA038.

You should see the T&Cs for Open Skies, they'd make O'Leary blush. It's clear that this is to be the new order in Willy's World.

We have one hope, that the High Court challenge to the strike action succeeds and force can be brought to bear on Willy directly. He doesn't fear us, but he is afraid of the reaction of the city and the institutionals to anymore 'disasters'.

If we don't stop him now then the profession of the airline pilot is finished. We might as well become forklift operators. I'm not prepared to see that happen to the job I love, and I'm damned if I'm going to abandon it to a man like Walsh. The farm goes on this one because I don't want anything to do with Willy's dream. This is the Rubycon.

Hope to see you on the other side.

[banana9999]

I'd respectfully suggest it had to start out as income before it could become profit - basic accounting and all that. ;)
I suggest you retake Accountancy 101.

[Willie Wash]

I think Willie should go on the accountancy course because you learn early on that \'destruction of staff moral, alienate the customer base = destruction of shareholder value\'. WIth BA shares now under £2 I think the time is coming for the end of BA.

[Willie Wash]

Corporate responsibility report 05/06 - assurance report


Terminal 5. We have noted British Airways’ prioritisation of Terminal 5 planning and the anticipated opportunities for operational performance improvement and efficiency gains. However, the Report has not included a clear plan and set of targets in this regard. We recommend that future reporting includes a clear and comprehensive performance framework for measuring and reporting the improvements achieved and ongoing targets as they are set.


Corporate responsibility report 06/07 - Willie Walsh's statement (http://thomson.mobular.net/thomson/7/2433/2666/print/print.pdf)


Terminal 5

In less than 300 days time we will be welcoming the first
customers through the doors at Heathrow’s Terminal 5.
Beginning in September 2007, the airline will be undertaking a
vast array of proving trials and staff familiarisation sessions. This
six month period of “operational readiness” will be critical to the
overall success of our move into the terminal.
We have studied in great detail a wide range of previous airport
moves and terminal openings around the world. Lessons have
been learnt and it is clear that projects, which have failed to build
in enough testing time, have run into major difficulties on opening



So we have the 05/06 assurance report critical of BA's T5 planning and in the following year this advice is ignored. though MR Walsh states 300 days out that they understand exactly the disaster which occurred in March 08.

Please tell me in the face of this Mr Walsh must surely resign!!!!!!