Boss of British Airways Willie Walsh dismissed Osborne’s claims of economic recovery and said Prime Minister David Cameron lacked “vision”
Chancellor George Osborne has no reason for “popping champagne corks” over
the state of the economy, the boss of British Airways has said.
Willie Walsh has become the latest top businessman to pour cold water on Osborne’s claim that the economy had “turned a corner”.
And he went further by claiming Osborne and Prime Minister David Cameron lacked “vision”.
Walsh, the chief executive of International Airlines Group, said things were starting to look up, but with growth skewed towards London rather than the rest of the UK.
He said: “If I was Osborne, I wouldn’t be popping champagne corks at this stage.”
And he added: “I am not a fan of him or Cameron.
“I have no political affiliation but I haven’t seen any evidence of visionary leadership,” he said.
“To me, they respond to whatever is topical, rather than setting a long-term strategy.”
Walsh made his withering comments while launching British Airways’ new three-times-a-week service to the Chinese city of Chengdu.
He said the UK’s “bureaucratic” visa system was costing British business millions of pounds by forcing many big-spending Chinese tourists to bypass the UK when they visit Europe.
While most EU countries are part of the Schengen open-border area, which allows non-EU nationals to visit all countries in the area on a single visa, the UK has refused to sign up to it – meaning that visitors to Britain need to have a separate visa.
“People need to feel the UK welcomes them,” Walsh said.
“There’s a perception in China that the UK doesn’t want to see Chinese tourists and Chinese business and we need to change that.”
Meanwhile, Walsh predicted more airline closures in Europe.
But he claimed IAG’s Spanish arm, Iberia, was on the mend, despite warning there could be more job losses on top of the 2,200 already announced.
He also dismissed comments by Michael O’Leary, boss of rival Ryanair, that it was thinking of offering “10 buck” fares if the airline launched a transatlantic business.
Air-passenger duty and fuel alone added up to around $200 per passenger, Walsh said.
He added: “For every $10 fare he offers, he’ll have to charge considerably more than that just to break even.”
Mirror
Willie Walsh has become the latest top businessman to pour cold water on Osborne’s claim that the economy had “turned a corner”.
And he went further by claiming Osborne and Prime Minister David Cameron lacked “vision”.
Walsh, the chief executive of International Airlines Group, said things were starting to look up, but with growth skewed towards London rather than the rest of the UK.
He said: “If I was Osborne, I wouldn’t be popping champagne corks at this stage.”
And he added: “I am not a fan of him or Cameron.
“I have no political affiliation but I haven’t seen any evidence of visionary leadership,” he said.
“To me, they respond to whatever is topical, rather than setting a long-term strategy.”
Walsh made his withering comments while launching British Airways’ new three-times-a-week service to the Chinese city of Chengdu.
He said the UK’s “bureaucratic” visa system was costing British business millions of pounds by forcing many big-spending Chinese tourists to bypass the UK when they visit Europe.
While most EU countries are part of the Schengen open-border area, which allows non-EU nationals to visit all countries in the area on a single visa, the UK has refused to sign up to it – meaning that visitors to Britain need to have a separate visa.
“People need to feel the UK welcomes them,” Walsh said.
“There’s a perception in China that the UK doesn’t want to see Chinese tourists and Chinese business and we need to change that.”
Meanwhile, Walsh predicted more airline closures in Europe.
But he claimed IAG’s Spanish arm, Iberia, was on the mend, despite warning there could be more job losses on top of the 2,200 already announced.
He also dismissed comments by Michael O’Leary, boss of rival Ryanair, that it was thinking of offering “10 buck” fares if the airline launched a transatlantic business.
Air-passenger duty and fuel alone added up to around $200 per passenger, Walsh said.
He added: “For every $10 fare he offers, he’ll have to charge considerably more than that just to break even.”
Mirror
