Willie Walsh: Airlines to post £3.8bn profit next year BACK TO BLACK Global airlines are set to return to black next year, said aviation veteran Willie Walsh. According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), carriers are set to post a collective net profit of $4.7bn (£3.8bn) as more than 4 billion passengers will travel worldwide next year. “That is a great achievement considering the scale of [...]
Walsh: Anything shy of 2050 net-zero goal will be a failure 2050 NET-ZERO Aviation boss Willie Walsh is calling on governments and industry regulators to commit to a net-zero goal by 2050. “I think anything shy of that will be viewed as a failure,” he told journalists on Tuesday afternoon as he talked about the ongoing International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) assembly in Vancouver. The UN body’s assembly [...]
Willie Walsh: China’s Covid policy cost Hong Kong aviation hub status WILLIE WALSH China’s zero-Covid policy has cost Hong Kong its status as an aviation hub, according to veteran Willie Walsh. A former chief executive of BA’s owner IAG, Walsh is now at the helm of airline trade body the International Air Transport Association (IATA). The director general blamed China’s Covid policies for “devastating” the Hong Kong aviation [...]
Willie Walsh: Fuel prices will put pressure on carriers for rest of year September 7, 2022 Increasing fuel prices will continue to put pressure on airlines’ costs for the rest of the year, according to aviation boss Willie Walsh. “I am aware of some airlines that have embarked on hedging in recent months … just to provide themselves with some protection against the volatility that we’re witnessing,” said Walsh – a [...]
Former airport chair takes aim at Willie Walsh July 24, 2022 The war of words enveloping the entire aviation industry descended further still this weekend after a former Heathrow chair and City grandee said former British Airways (BA) boss and now trade body chief Willie Walsh had “trashed a great brand and created a company that is a byword for poor service”. Sir Nigel Rudd accused [...]
Heathrow lambasted by Virgin Atlantic and BA’s owner over fees November 14, 2021 British Airways’ (BA) former boss Willie Walsh alongside Luis Gallego – the chief executive of BA’s owner IAG – and Virgin Atlantic’s chief Shai Wess has lambasted Heathrow airport for its decision to increase fees. Walsh, Weiss and Gallego, writing on the Sunday Telegraph, have criticised the London hub saying it is ‘”back at its [...]
Ex BA boss accuses Heathrow of “no commercial nous” over increased costs October 10, 2021 Former British Airways (BA) boss Willie Walsh, who is now the International Air Transport Association’s (IATA) director general, has accused Heathrow of having “zero commercial nous” in regards to the airport’s plans to increase charges by over 90 per cent in 2022. “What gets me about Heathrow is that they make all these fancy statements [...]
Chinese airlines push back against IATA’s net-zero pledges October 5, 2021 Chinese carriers lobbied global airlines body IATA to push back its net-zero 2050 deadline but they were rejected by the organisation, which stressed its commitment to the Paris Agreement, according to reports. Chinese airlines have pushed back against the International Air Transport Association’s (IATA) resolution to commit to net-zero CO2 emissions by 2050. Carriers reportedly [...]
IATA estimates aviation’s pandemic losses at $201bn October 4, 2021 The International Air Transport Association has estimated that the aviation sector will return to profitability in 2023. As a result of the pandemic, aviation will lose around $201bn before returning profitable in 2023. As explained by International Air Transport Association’s (IATA) director general Willie Walsh, losses in 2021 are expected to be nearly $52bn – [...]