Willie Walsh at the Marketing Society

International Airline Group (IAG) boss, Willie Walsh, spoke to the Marketing Society last week telling members that the choice of the IAG name for the merged British Airways (BA) and Iberia was a deliberate ploy for a "bland and boring name to help focus on the brands in our business."

Asked if plans for a third runway could be revived, he was perhaps a little less negative than usual.  "Personally, I think it’s dead – the political opportunity has passed us by.  I think it’s a terrible mistake.”

On the subject of the any Thames estuary project Walsh does seem ambivalent, hardly a supporter, perhaps sitting on the fence and making it clear that Heathrow cannot close.  Observers note that since any opening is probably 15 years away, at the earliest, and predictions of passenger numbers notoriously inaccurate (Stansted was built for 30m passengers and at this time is struggling with little over half that number).  Walsh is probably taking the right line.  If the bmi take-over goes ahead BA should have sufficient slots to develop new routes over the next few years. www.iairgroup.com

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