Eddington to quit BA

BRITISH Airways has begun the search for a new chief executive to replace Australian boss Rod Eddington later this year, it was reported today.

Mr Eddington has still to announce his departure, but the Observer said the company had drawn up a list of airline executives and internal high fliers.

High on the list are said to be Tony Tyler, chief operating officer at Cathay Pacific and James Hogan, a former BMI executive who now runs Gulf Air.

Internal candidates are believed to include marketing director Martin George and finance director John Rishton, while there has been speculation that Barbara Cassani, the former head of BA's low cost unit Go, may return.The search is being led by chairman Martin

Broughton, the former chief executive of British American Tobacco, who is thought to want a successor in place by the end of the year.Mr Eddington's departure date has frequently been the subject of speculation, with the Sunday Times reporting today that the chief executive planned to be in his native Australia by January.

He is said to be keen to travel in Europe before heading south to concentrate on three non-executive directorships.

First, he will preside over what is expected to be his final annual investor day on Thursday. At the event he will unveil a two-year business plan with the key plank of 'Fit for Five' being to scrap out-dated and costly working practices before the airline moves to Heathrow's new Terminal Five.

The plans include a sharp reduction in turn-around times of BA's short-haul fleet to 35 minutes per plane, plus an end to central manning and rostering arrangements for baggage handlers and other ground staff.

Fit for Five follows the company's post-September 11 restructuring plan Future Size and Shape, which overhauled the route network, changed working practices and brought 13,000 job cuts.

Despite strikes and other industrial unrest, Mr Eddington was recently voted the best FTSE chief executive in a survey of media reporting over the past year. He took the helm in May 2000 and has endured some testing times, following the Concorde disaster, the post-September travel slump and the Sars epidemic.

A BA spokesman declined to make any comment on succession plans.