Surprised this has not already been mentioned…according to the report below, British Airways is in the hands of administrators!?
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/transport/article6543863.ece
It was close to midnight when Willie Walsh finally emerged from Waterside, British Airways’ sprawling Heathrow headquarters. The airline’s chief executive blinked in the lights of the waiting television crews, cleared his throat, and started to speak, his voice trembling.
“I am sorry to say that despite our efforts today we have been unable to secure further funding from our banks. The cash drain we sustained as a result of the rolling programme of industrial action by cabin crew and ground staff means we can no longer continue as a going concern. British Airways has this evening been put into administration.”
I am somewhat miffed over the fact that no other news agency has been reporting on this…I would have thought that news like this would have been circled round very quickly and been splashed all over the 24-hr news channels as soon as it broke and also expected coverage in the newspapers this morning?
That said, if I am to believe the article above, could this really be the beginning of the end of Britain’s biggest airline?
What ramifications will this have for passengers, but more importantly, the staff and their jobs?
By: zoot horn rollo - 23rd June 2009 at 16:47
Yes, of course I have read a newspaper before, however, I have not read/seen an article that quotes someone as saying something has happened when it has not?!
It is, though I hate to say it, a fairly common technique in journalism where you want to set the scene for some hypothetical discussion
By: kev35 - 23rd June 2009 at 15:28
….. I am pretty sure that there were probably quite a few other people that jumped to the same conclusion as myself after they had read the first few lines of the article.
There might have been but I bet you won’t find any who’ll admit to it.
Never mind, there were some who believed the ‘Sport’ headlines about the Lancaster Bomber and red London double-decker bus that have been spotted on the moon. Those people are easy to find, they are in the home for the terminally bewildered.
With me.
Come on in, there’s plenty of room.
Regards,
kev35
By: cloud_9 - 23rd June 2009 at 15:15
I hope you have a thick skin because I suspect that you may come in for a load of stick today for totally misreading the article…:eek:
Yeah, don’t worry, I have a thick skin!:D
Oh dear lord….Cloud_9, your posts usual make some sense!
Have you ever read a newspaper before???
Yes, of course I have read a newspaper before, however, I have not read/seen an article that quotes someone as saying something has happened when it has not?!
Ok, so I may have totally misread the article (my bad, :o), however, I am pretty sure that there were probably quite a few other people that jumped to the same conclusion as myself after they had read the first few lines of the article.
By: rdc1000 - 23rd June 2009 at 13:35
Haha, indeed! 😀
By: rdc1000 - 23rd June 2009 at 13:02
Be merciful with him, chaps….. 😎
I think I was very restrained! Big pat on the back for me I think!:D
By: englishrob - 23rd June 2009 at 12:52
Sneijder- I can tell you that WW has been far from communicating everything transparently with his staff and in fact the majority of staff have now lost confidence in him and his managerial team.
By: symon - 23rd June 2009 at 12:33
BA have been looking to partner with/invest in/take over (well, controlling shares) one or two airlines recently haven’t they? Not a move to take if administration was on the cards.
By: Grey Area - 23rd June 2009 at 12:23
Be merciful with him, chaps….. 😎
By: sneijder - 23rd June 2009 at 08:59
I think a delete thread might just be in order, I very nearly had a heart attack !
I think WW is very clever in what he’s been doing recently, as the article states any industrial action by staff would kill BA stone dead right now. He’s communicated everything transparently over the past year, and anyone on the airline is wise to what’s going on.
If this was over here in Scandinavia where unions have just started to wise up, BA would be dead – I can see SAS struggling now.
By: rdc1000 - 23rd June 2009 at 08:47
A question that rises from this is why is The Times reporting it in such a way and appearing to quote a statement made by Willie Walsh?:confused:
Oh dear lord….Cloud_9, your posts usual make some sense!
Are you kidding us here? Have you ever read a newspaper before??? It is an accepted and often used journalistic style to reflect a scenario description which is then used as a point of discussion to consider the elements which could (or my my view in this case will not) lead to the predescribed scenario!
By: zoot horn rollo - 23rd June 2009 at 07:59
Precisely what I was thinking and why I raised this issue in my initial post…?
A question that rises from this is why is The Times reporting it in such a way and appearing to quote a statement made by Willie Walsh?:confused:
I hope you have a thick skin because I suspect that you may come in for a load of stick today for totally misreading the article…:eek:
By: Ren Frew - 22nd June 2009 at 22:59
Precisely what I was thinking and why I raised this issue in my initial post…?
A question that rises from this is why is The Times reporting it in such a way and appearing to quote a statement made by Willie Walsh?:confused:
Jeez….:rolleyes:
By: cloud_9 - 22nd June 2009 at 22:22
So the article is saying that he declared this at midnight, presumably last night. Why have there been no other reports on it? :confused:
Precisely what I was thinking and why I raised this issue in my initial post…?
It’s written in a speculative, fictional sense, possibly by the same dramatists who do Eastenders and Dr Who.
A question that rises from this is why is The Times reporting it in such a way and appearing to quote a statement made by Willie Walsh?:confused:
By: Ren Frew - 22nd June 2009 at 22:10
So the article is saying that he declared this at midnight, presumably last night. Why have there been no other reports on it? :confused:
It’s written in a speculative, fictional sense, possibly by the same dramatists who do Eastenders and Dr Who. Cloud 9 ought to become a headline writer or a spin doctor ! :D;)
By: Arabella-Cox - 22nd June 2009 at 22:09
Ah ok. Was probably best to read on before posting. 😮
The next paragraph begins:
This may seem a far-fetched scenario…
By: Arabella-Cox - 22nd June 2009 at 22:05
So the article is saying that he declared this at midnight, presumably last night. Why have there been no other reports on it? :confused:
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June 22, 2009 at 10:00 pm