Air Transport

Flight International online news 12:30GMT: Rod Eddington, the man credited for turning British Airways around after its post-9/11 crisis, today hands over to his successor, former Aer Lingus chief executive Willie Walsh.


Walsh settles in at BA

Under Eddington, who joined the airline in 2000,the carrier's financial performance has been turned around from a £200 million ($294 million) pre-tax loss in 2002 to a pre-tax profit of £415 million ($773 million) for the full year to 31 March 2005, and, despite a series of damaging industrial actions, British Airways is widely seen as one of the world’s strongest airline performers.

Walsh, 43, joins BA after a meteoric rise at Aer Lingus, a company he joined as 17-year-old cadet pilot in 1979 before becoming chief executive soon after 11 September.

Walsh also has an MSc in management and business administration from Trinity College, Dublin.

Meanwhile, BA has also announced that its group treasurer and head of taxation, Keith Williams, will succeed John Rishton as chief financial officer on 1 January, 2006 following the resignation of the latter with effect from 31 December to join Amsterdam based retailer, Ahold.

ROSS BENTLEY/LONDON

Read Murdo Morrison's blog on Rod Eddington's farewell speech.

Read Airline Business's recent profile of Wille Walsh.