By Sarah Younger LONDON, Oct 12 (Reuters) - Luis Gallego, w
By Sarah Younger
LONDON, Oct 12 (Reuters) – Luis Gallego, who took over as CEO of IAG ICAG.L final month, stamped his mark on the airways group on Monday by selling Aer Lingus boss Sean Doyle to guide British Airways, changing Alex Cruz with fast impact.
It was one among a variety of administration modifications introduced by theAnglo-Spanish airways group and marks a return to BA for Doyle, who labored as director of community, fleet and alliances earlier than leaving for Aer Lingus in 2019.
Cruz had been BA boss since 2016 and can keep on as its non-executive chairman for a transition interval, IAG mentioned.
Doyle faces an enormous problem at BA, which like all airways, is struggling on account of low ranges of flying throughout the pandemic.
IAG final month raised 2.74 billion euros ($3.24 billion) to scale back its debt and assist it survive the pandemic.
“We’re navigating the worst disaster confronted in our trade and I am assured these inner promotions will guarantee IAG is properly positioned to emerge in a powerful place,” Gallego mentioned in a press release.
The previous few months have been powerful for Cruz who was tasked with driving via 13,000 job cuts at BA, making him a frequent goal of commerce union hostility.
Gallego, who had been boss of IAG airline Iberia, pipped Cruz to the IAG prime job earlier this yr, changing Willie Walsh.
Gallego and Cruz beforehand labored collectively at Spanish airline Vueling, now additionally owned by IAG.
Analysts recommended that various high-profile blunders at BA beneath Cruz, together with a knowledge breach for which it was fined $230 million in 2019, and an IT failure in 2017 which left tens of hundreds of passengers stranded, wouldn’t have helped his trigger.
Cruz was additionally on the helm final yr when BA pilots went on strike for the primary time, costing the airline greater than 137 million euros.
IAG mentioned Fernando Candela, CEO of its airline Stage, would tackle the brand new function of group chief transformation officer.
It named Aer Lingus’ Donal Moriarty as interim CEO on the Irish provider and mentioned a everlasting substitute can be introduced sooner or later.
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(Reporting by Sarah Younger, enhancing by Michael Holden and Jason Neely)
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