Irish high-flier sets a survival course others would be happy to exploit

Walsh made his offer to work for free during July when the results were announced. He has gone further now though by asking all staff to do the same. And that’s where he has come unstuck. He made the suggestion in the staff’s newsletter – it was not a formal request

AS chief executive of British Airways, Willie Walsh is one of the most prominent Irish people in global business. He is the head of an iconic airline of a scale much bigger than Aer Lingus where he was a massively successful chief executive earlier in the decade. Unfortunately, he may have undermined his own authority seriously in his efforts to reverse huge losses at the British company.

The airline recently reported losses of £401m for its last financial year, which ended on March 31, 2009. Things are likely to get worse unless costs are reduced, as Walsh believes the airline is flying through the greatest economic turbulence in its existence. He has warned it is in a fight for survival.