I've found another Stuart Rose: remember Rose is that unusual man in charge of Marks and Spencer about whom I have written quite a bit.
Well, here's another man in the same mould: Willie Walsh, boss of British Airways.
Over the summer Walsh asked his staff to work for nothing for a month. He needed to save £1 billion and his initiative saved around £10 MILLION.
Anyway, he has gone one better. Taking a leaf from the low cost airlines' book, Walsh is reported to be wanting anyone who wants to pre book their seat to have to pay for the privilege. No one wants to do that. NO ONE!
Hold on, it gets worse: he even wants business class passengers to pay as much as £70 to pre book their seat!! Remember, while you and I pay, say, £200 - £500 for a medium/long haul seat, business class passengers might be paying £1,000 - £5,000 for their seat. Does any rational person think that asking those people to pay even more for less value is an attractive addition to their business model?
Remember also that he is doing this at a time when business class passengers are relatively scarce. What is this man thinking?
Time for a change? I'll do it!
Duncan Williamson
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