British Airways CEO Mr. Alex Cruz has stated he has no desire to be like Ryanair, known for slashing prices and cutting costs.
“Am I going to “Ryanair-ise” or “Low-cost-ise” BA? The answer to that is clear – No,” he said
He however acknowledged that he must do something to make the airline more competitive in today’s market.
“What is expected from me is to bring in a way of thinking so that [British Airways] can survive in a competitive environment,” he added.
He says they are not likely to be able to offer short haul flights as low as RyanAir for example, and they won’t try to. British Airways is known for its name and brand and the new CEO wants to do things in keeping with the quality of the name and brand. If and when they make changes it will be along the lines of offering something none of their competitors do, as well as being something that customers are willing to pay for.
The CEO has stated, in response to the rumours, that there won’t be a strong focus on removing free catering from BA’s short haul flights because it is not what consumers focus on. When booking a short haul flight, potential passengers are solely looking at the cost of the flight.
His focus is to restructure and reorganise to reduce costs, such as having a smaller voting body to make major decisions, looking at some of their routes, and making British Airways stand out in ways unlike other airlines. This will help to cover costs as well as continue to make profits in the new competitive market without having to reduce their prices so drastically.
British Airways is a legacy airline, and they have done well to maintain their reputation for quality of service as well as being the airline one will pay for as a treat. It will be interesting to see how Mr. Cruz brings down costs, whilst making BA ore competitive.