Alex Cruz quits as British Airways chief executive in major shakeup

Cruz will be remembered by investors as being a tough operator who helped turn British Airways into a more profitable airline before the the Covid 19 crisis but critics and staff will remember him for difficult labour relations, staff culls and the notorious IT failure in 2017 which left 75,000 passengers stranded.

At Aer Lingus, Donal Moriarty, current chief corporate affairs officer, becomes interim CEO.

Gallego said: "I want to thank Alex for all that he has done at British Airways. He worked tirelessly to modernise the airline in the years leading up to the celebration of its 100th anniversary. Since then, he has led the airline through a particularly demanding period and has secured restructuring agreements with the vast majority of employees."

He added: “Sean Doyle has extensive experience at British Airways having worked there for 20 years before moving to head Aer Lingus nearly two years ago where he has done an excellent job. I am confident that will continue at British Airways."

Spaniard Alex Cruz, 54, started his career at American Airlines in London. Willie Walsh made him CEO of BA in 2016 after which he launched a ruthless cost-cutting campaign, closing down and outsourcing the airline's computer systems and bringing in efficiencies across the board that led to run-ins with unions.

He also stopped offering free food on short haul, reinvesting the proceeds in putting better seats into Club class long haul. Under his stewardship, BA has a far younger, more modern fleet as he has ditched the Jumbo Jet Boeing 747s and brought in Dreamliners and A350s.

In 2019, pilots walked out during a dispute over pay in a long-running battle with the Balpa union.

Then, as Covid 19 hit, he launched plans to make up to 12,000 staff redundant and put many older staff on lower paid, more flexible contracts.

Last month, he faced MPs on the Transport Select Committee and told them the maximum pay reduction for those on "legacy" contracts would be 15% - far lower than the 70% cuts Unite and GMB unions claimed.

Cruz called for an air bridge between the US and UK so the all important London-New York route could be reopened, perhaps with covid tests on arrival and departure.

The departure of Cruz so soon after Walsh brings an end to a sometimes confusing relationship. Walsh, as boss of the parent company, would say he left the running of IAG's various airlines to their respective CEOs but would sometimes comment critically from the sidelines.

Typical of that was at a press conference in Canada last year when Cruz was in the thick of a dispute with pilots and Walsh said he would have handled the talks differently.

Then, eyebrows were raised when Walsh, rather than Cruz, went before the transport select committee for the first of the two BA hearings earlier this year.

Sean Doyle may have an easier relationship with the parent company under its new boss Gallego.

Doyle joined Aer Lingus nearly two years ago and prior to that was 20 years at British Airways.

IAG would not comment on whether Cruz would be getting a payoff, citing the fact that, as he was not on the IAG plc board, it did not have to disclose it.

His salary was £805,000 but he volunteered to cut that by a third because of the Covid crisis and sacrificed two months' pay.

John Strickland, airline analyst and director of JLS Consulting, said: “Cruz had a difficult job but achieved a lot in his time at BA. His investment in bringing in Club seats and the new fleet now coming in have modernised the business and his actions since the start of coronavirus are why BA went into this crisis in better shape than other airlines.

“It’s a pity that after doing all the heavy lifting, he won’t be there to see the fruits of his labour. He shouldn’t just be remembered as a cost-cutter. He’s going out on a work in progress. Had he stayed around it would have become apparent he wasn’t just cutting and dumbing down.”

He pointed out that Cruz’s departure mirrored Willie Walsh’s move out of the BA chief executive role nine years ago, soon after he concluded a bruising battle with unions. Walsh was replaced by Keith Williams, arguably to pacify the workforce.

Strickland said Cruz was criticised unjustly for ditching free refreshments in short haul. “He was facing competition from the low cost carriers and people didn’t want the free, cold apology for a croissant anyway.”