Stop Calling For Alex Cruz To Quit BA, Other Heads Need Rolling…
Of all the slow evolving, process driven industries in the world, the airline business is one more stuck in the dinosaur age than most. Decades have passed where creativity is frowned upon, innovation has been stymied and the best approach has been to keep your head down, doing the job until you rise to the highest level of your own incompetence.
In countries where it’s hard to fire people, it’s an effective strategy, at least as far as cashing your pay check goes. For British Airways, it could be argued that this area is one of the greatest forces holding the airline back, and despite being the easiest lightning rod during the latest round of emotionally powerful incidents – Alex Cruz isn’t one of them.
For me, it all started with a completely frivolous, borderline meaningless situation many years ago, that despite being meaningless in the grand scheme, somehow said so much about processes gone wrong. I was flying first class with my wife from Heathrow to JFK, it was her birthday and she was leaving her home. I wanted to surprise her with a birthday cake, and so I emailed the “BA YouFirst” team, which every first class passenger has access to, and I asked if I could buy a cake, or anything, to make the flight special. Note: I was happy to buy, I wasn’t asking for free cake.
“No, we can’t cater anything that’s not for everyone”.
I replied that I’d happily buy cake for the whole plane, and that too was declined.
It was the notion that a passenger in the cabin the airline goes to great lengths to pander to couldn’t even get happy birthday written on a brownie, let alone a little cake, with no actual cost to the airline, that I realized there were huge failures in the airlines approach to “customer”. Then Alex Cruz came in, and at first, I thought he was making things even worse. But he hasn’t.
Things Just Aren’t Worse, No Matter What You Wish
Alex Cruz hasn’t made things worse. British Airways is genuinely better today than it was two years ago by any actual quantifiable measure of: finance, route map, fleet, on time performance and all that sort of stuff. It’s climbed the Skytrax rankings each year, not that they should be trusted, while also jumping in net promoter score and other key metrics.
Yes, British Airways is really better today than it was two years ago by almost any actual metric. Stop trying to believe it’s worse. It’s just not statistically true, even if they f**ked up your holiday.
Does that mean you don’t have right or reason to be furious with the airline? No, of course you do.
Since Alex Cruz came on board…
- On time performance is up. Passengers care more about this than almost any other factor, and British Airways is regularly top 10 in the world of major carriers in this metric.
- Terminals are better. Biometric boarding, family check in zones and first wing have made T5 far more competitive than it was and new lounges are springing up.
- Wifi, better seats in premium cabins, power ports in economy and new planes are finally arriving. This takes years, not months to deliver, and the impacts of Cruz’s early moves are only just now being felt.
- Fares are down, yields are up. It’s not uncommon to pay same price or similar price to Ryanair, EasyJet etc on short haul flights. British Airways virtually matches Norwegian on long haul price, while offering a loyalty program and free food.
Were you really willing to pay a £75 premium for a gin & tonic? Statistically, whatever you may say – no, you weren’t – which is why BA was in the red before, with failing short haul routes. Now, they’re breadwinners.
Great Strides Plagued By Colossal Failures…
But, yes – this is all pissed down the drain by colossal IT failures, and most recently, the pilots strike which stuck a dagger in the heart of the #BA100 PR campaign, which had most successfully spent the year building goodwill via retro liveries, acts of kindness, new fleet deliveries, lounges and more.
Everyone impacted by these issues has a right to be disgusted, mortified and furious at the airline and in regards to strikes, its pilots too. It is British Airways reputation for smooth sailing punctuality that make it one of the most valuable brands and these lingering issues are the hurricane force winds that won’t let the ship set new course. I believe many of these winds are caused by dinosaurs, without a clue where things are going.
What people hate about these issues isn’t that they happen – they happen to every airline – it’s the lack of transparency or fortitude in which they are handled. Middle managers passing on weak advice to front line employees who then try and nickel and dime customers during times of hardship is just flat out wrong. I too was enraged when I saw the airline was not fully honouring the clearly defined legal obligations set forth for such cancellations, and every time I see “100,000 people stuck as BA computer systems fail” headlines, I want to punch a wall.
But pinning this on Alex Cruz is literally the dumbest and most short sighted thing you can do in regards to this airline. Sure, there’s always “the buck stops here” CEO approach, but with 45,000 employees, you can’t even remotely pretend to square this all on one person.
If anyone could ever try to be held accountable for all 45,000 employees though, I believe it would actually be Alex Cruz. I’ve personally seen the man walk the halls of terminals talking to customers without any entourage, and even help manage a boarding gate from time to time. I don’t think I’ve ever seen an airline leader with less entitlement and more transparency.
To the dismay and delight of colleagues, Mr. Cruz’s legacy at British Airways thus far is exactly that. An accountable, direct, hands on approach to key elements of the business et al. The “why this” questions, the dropping into random meetings and the push for better solutions is his method of operation. He’s blunt, he’s decisive and obviously not everyone is going to like that, particularly if they don’t have any solutions.
In any draconian business, some people mistake a leadership directive for “better” or “efficiency” with less and less, and that’s exactly what I believe to be the reason BA hasn’t completely turned over a new leaf.
As someone hoping to raise a family one day, and who understands the basic necessity of paying rent in an ever changing world – I don’t want to pick on anyone in particular – but why aren’t people calling for the heads of the IT department, customer service, loyalty engagement, legal compliance or any of those departments to be put on notice? How long does it take to get a freaking cup of coffee for top tier customers on short haul flights?
Wouldn’t those directly correlated roads seem like a far more logical tangent for public pitchforks than calling for someone who absolutely doesn’t make the day to day decisions in those areas to be gone?
A Brave New Frontier For Airlines
Perhaps this is all why airlines such as Lufthansa have spoken of entirely shifting the organization of their business, cutting entire departments in favour of new airline teams that don’t yet exist, which better serve the future of aviation.
I’m pissed off at whichever customer service manager or VP gave front line staff a directive not to book people onto non partner airlines, when they were legally obliged to during pilot strikes. Why not just come out transparent and apologetic? If that came from the top, I’m even more upset. I shouldn’t be needing to tell customers what BA’s legal obligations are to them, perhaps an outreach team could be the new great idea for BA.
Simon Calder wouldn’t even need to work anymore if airlines just fulfilled their legal obligations. It’s the law, and BA should honour the law.
Alex Cruz is one of the most tech focused airline executives, which makes chronic IT failures even more painful for all involved. They may have the best systems or boarding technology in some areas, but there’s clearly a part of the business where the IT team just isn’t cutting it.
I cannot help but be enraged when computer systems fail and strand passengers. For anyone who actually does follow the airline industry, this is hardly a “BA only” thing, so don’t be daft enough to think that this is only BA and that somehow they are special. They’re absolutely not, and IT failures continue to hamper other airlines and airports around the world with alarming frequency.
The same goes for data breaches, where British Airways is hardly alone either, joined by entities including the NHS, NORAD (US Missile Defence) Yahoo, Facebook, Mastercard, Marriott, Cathay Pacific… you get the gist. Pretending that these problems are isolated to BA is simply inaccurate, no matter how much you’d like them to be to fulfil the “BA shouldn’t be a flag carrier anymore” narrative that’s fun to tell your friends.
Alex Cruz Didn’t Take Your Flowers Away
“Find ways to reduce cost” doesn’t inherently mean take things away. It may mean “find better florists, or switch roses for lily’s or orchids”.
Company sources speaking on the condition of anonymity have indicated that the “cost cutting” reputation Cruz has garnered in the public is not entirely fair, or remotely deserved. Like any business facing headwinds and red circles, it was crucial for a leader to find creative approaches to better ways of doing business, and I’m sure orders were passed down to find ways to save money when Alex Cruz came in. But again, that doesn’t mean take away – it means do better. Naturally, squares can’t rectify this circle.
As a frequent paying customer, I am happier with British Airways now than I was two years ago when Alex Cruz took the job. I can fly BA on short haul because it’s usually a similar price, and since I do stay brand loyal, my experience with the new first wing at T5 is a competitive experience advantage, which keeps me loyal. On long haul, my experiences are slowly getting better too. There have been improvements in every cabin. Yes, they did start at the front of the plane, but new premium economy amenities and a better focus on economy comforts are now in full swing.
They’re catching up to others, just perhaps slower than some may like.
Cruz was early onto the power of online booking in previous roles and technology has been a key focus throughout his tenure. BA was one of the first airlines to champion biometric boarding, which can board a double decker A380 in 20 minutes. It’s been the first to do electric airplane tows, which cut emissions at airports and the airline is working with shell to turn waste into jet fuel. There’s clever stuff happening, and I believe Alex Cruz is a central figure in turning these crucial stones of aviation future over.
But yeah, it all means nothing if you don’t get where you’re supposed to on time.
British Airways has challenges to overcome, but the rumours of departure for Alex Cruz and calls for his name in resignation aren’t the solution, they are counter productive. It’s fun to find a figurehead to blame, but operational change takes years, and a lot of change was needed here. There are probably still heads that *should* roll, which may have reached their highest level of incompetence, or rather are just so tone deaf to what passengers expect that they are incapable of success.
This airline needed a big kick in the ass, it needs to turn old thought processes into new innovation and of all the people in the airline industry that might be able to pull it off, Alex Cruz, by my estimation is amongst the best equipped. I do hear Jonny Ives is a free agent these days, but other than the guy who brought the iPhone and the iMac, I don’t see many people who could bring BA to a position of a truly leading and innovative airline like Alex Cruz can.
good post
A good post full of some positive observations however it glosses over the negatives. All the positives mean nothing if your business class cabin feels like something out of the last century, the floor and seat is filthy, your flight is delayed because they cannot get the archaic entertainment system to work and the staff treat the situation as if its an average working day.
Again. This is irrelevant as club suite has been introduced and is been rolled out across the fleet You BA complainers come with the same arguments every time and they’re being worked on so it’s irrelevant. Look for something else. Every airline phases those kind of situations on a small number of flights every day. Because you happened to be on one. Sorry. But this is really irrelevant.
One word sums up BA’s attitude: CONFORMANCE. A very important idea at BA. Does this mean BA will conform to, say, EC261? Or that their planes will be punctual? Er, no. It’s the CUSTOMER which must CONFORM to a silly deadline or be thrown off the flight. You’ll be barred from passing security 35 minutes ahead of scheduled departure, even if your plane is not yet at the gate. This spiteful attitude to latecomers and to customers in general, this isn’t some artefact of BA’s workforce. It’s orders from senior management ie Alex Cruz. Ugh.
I’m sorry this comment is daft? Is it BAs fault you’re late to your flight? Sorry about that though. Yes sometimes they’re delays but they’re one of most punctual airlines in the world. One a day to day basis BA will get to 90% of its destinations on time. So please.
I’m sorry this comment is daft? Is it BAs fault you’re late to your flight? Sorry about that though. Yes sometimes they’re delays but they’re one of most punctual airlines in the world. One a day to day basis BA will get to 90% of its destinations on time. So please.
I used to use BA alot. But I have had a multitude of problems flying to Moscow with them.
In December last year there was around 1-2cm of snow at Heathrow. 300 flights were cancelled. We boarded our flight. They cancelled the flight while we were on board. Then said it was no longer cancelled as they would bring in a new crew. Then they cancelled again. We spent 10 and half hours on board a plane that never moved. For a 4 hour flight. We then spent 3 hours at immigration.
This could be put down to Heathrow. But BA had no staff in the airport. No hotels. I booked one in London then travelled back the next morning to try again. My bags never made it. Arrived two days later with one of my snowboards ripped apart. I didn’t manage to claim to for the baggage in time. But was told that my hotel would not be reimbursed due to extreme weather. 1-2cm of snow in December.
More recently their IT systems failed. I spent three hours on the phone in total to them to re book my flights with them. Despite one of my flights being cancelled they made me to pay a change fee.
Honestly I want to see them do well. But Aeroflot have been proving themselves a more reliable airline and have excellent customer service(phone lines at least).
It’s a strange time.
I have no idea what management or leadership experience the author of this article has, but it has many inconsistencies and inaccuracies, and takes a too simplistic an approach.
1. “Yes, British Airways is really better today than it was two years ago by almost any actual metric.”
“Yes, British Airways is really better today than it was two years ago by almost any actual metric”.
Staff morale? IT? Customer service? Or are they not important ?
2. Bearing in mind Cruz is the boss and supposed to lead, how do you square this statement :
” But pinning this on Alex Cruz is literally the dumbest and most short sighted thing you can do in regards to this airline. Sure, there’s always “the buck stops here” CEO approach, but with 45,000 employees, you can’t even remotely pretend to square this all on one person.”
With this one:
” .but why aren’t people calling for the heads of the IT department, customer service, loyalty engagement, legal compliance or any of those departments to be put on notice?”
Indeed! Why exactly isn’t Cruz doing this? It’s an absolutely critical element of his responsibilities as boss!
And what about this statement:
“Company sources speaking on the condition of anonymity have indicated that the “cost cutting” reputation Cruz has garnered in the public is not entirely fair, or remotely deserved.”
How does that sit with this from Alex Cruz in January 2017:
“We’re always going to be reducing costs, but there’s no more programs. It’s now injected into the DNA. If one particular day we don’t come up with an idea to reduce our costs, then we’re not doing our job.”
There are good points in this article, but to have as your main thrust the polishing of Cruz’s reputation and ego is quite the wrong approach to a complex and somewhat tragic set of circumstances.
I’ve read it, I fundamentally disagree. At a time when BA are making record profits, they are breaking the law with respect to compensation, totally failing to deliver customer services on the ground and systemically degrading the cusomter expereince whilst introducing new ways to rinse them at every opportunity. Densifying cabins, reducing the onboard amenities (Screens in short/midhaul? Washrooms per passenger? Catering volume and choice?) and most of all they still fly filthy, badly maintained cabins and charge a premium for the privilege.
One of the roles of the CEO is to lead and manage the heads of “the IT department, customer service, loyalty engagement, legal compliance…” If they are culpable, given the frequency of failures in those and many other departments since Snr Cruz joined because he hasn’t taken action to manage their performance.
“The advert initiatives don’t match the brand and what it delivers. They just make us realise what BA once was and no longer is. You can’t advertise yourself out of a bad reputation.”- https://www.theguardian.com/business/2019/aug/31/pilot-strike-british-airways-passenger-anger-computer-failures
The ONLY reason that he’s got away with such a sh*tshow is the inherited dominance of slots…
“With no alternative hub airports in the UK, Heathrow is the only convenient choice for millions of passengers. And with no space for additional landing slots, BA is the only convenient choice at Heathrow.
It is this stranglehold that allows Walsh and Cruz to treat their customers so harshly year after year.”
https://www.forbes.com/sites/martinrivers/2019/08/27/british-airways-centenary-becomes-a-pr-nightmare/
A bit of a change of opinion no?
https://staging.godsavethepoints.com/open-letter-to-british-airways-ceo-alex-cruz/
Absolutely. If you read that, and the further correspondence, my opinion was changed, as anyone seeking answers or metric based solutions will find that happening from time to time.
If he’s doing such a great job why have shares lost a third of their value in the past 18months despite the record profits and enormous dividends?
Could it be that investors understand you can’t get away with treating your customers like sh^t forever?
Or perhaps that they understand the current excessive profits are unsustainable and bought at the cost of destroying the customer experience and brand?
Alex Cruz has not been involved in the selection of aircraft for BA. Willie Walsh selected the B777X and B737Max. The A380 and A350 were selected before Señor Cruz came to BA from Veiling. He has brought the Veuling business model to BA under pressure from Walsh and will never be able to run a full service premium airline without constantly being pressured by Walsh on anything and everything. Besides, he is not in a position to learn on the job, although he appears to be doing so in the face of constant feedback from frequent fliers, of which I have been one for 20 years.
You really have absolutely NO idea what you are talking about!
Interesting view, but my sentiments are after over 50 years of air travel is that BA is taking one step forward and two backwards. I realise that the world moves on but bring back Sir Colin. He was a real leader. And the news today re Wally Walsh!