Marshall to retire from BA

Monday, 11 Nov, 2003 0

Lord Marshall has announced that he is retiring as chairman of British Airways.

Lord Marshall will retire after the next AGM on 20 July 2004. He joined BA as chief executive in February 1983, and became chairman 1996.

The new chairman will be Martin Broughton, currently the senior independent director. He takes the role of deputy chairman in the interim.

Mr Broughton, 56 is currently chairman of British American Tobacco. He joined the BA board in 2000. A second board appointment has also been announced, of Alison Reed, who becomes a non-executive director from 1 December. She is the finance director of Marks and Spencer plc and a non-executive board member of HSBC Bank PLC.

BA has also announced its interim results today. The carrier posts a pre-tax profit of £105 million for the quarter to the end of September, down from £245 million last year. This leaves the half-year profit at £60 million, down from £310 million last year.

Lord Marshall was cautious about projections for the coming year. He said: “The recent positive economic news from the United States is a welcome development, but is not yet showing in forward bookings.”

Chief executive, Rod Eddington (pictured) said the airline has faced a difficult quarter, including overcoming unofficial industrial action at Heathrow. He said manpower reductions were on target at 12,087, aiming to achieve 13,000 by March 2004.

He added: “New technology is key to simplifying processes for our customers and they are embracing it enthusiastically. E-tickets are now used by nearly half our customers and internet bookings on ba.com continue to increase with 46% of all shorthaul non-premium point-to-point bookings being made on-line. Customers now also monitor and manage their reservations on-line. More than 60% of our customers choose to communicate with us by email.”

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