* BA CEO Alex Cruz replaced with immediate effect, to stay
on for
a transition period
* Management changes come a month into IAG CEO Gallego's
tenure
(Adds background)
By Sarah Young
LONDON, Oct 12 (Reuters) - Luis Gallego, who took over as
CEO of IAG last month, stamped his mark on the airlines
group on Monday by promoting Aer Lingus boss Sean Doyle to lead
British Airways, replacing Alex Cruz with immediate effect.
It was one of a number of management changes announced by
the Anglo-Spanish airlines group and marks a return to BA for
Doyle, who worked as director of network, fleet and alliances
before leaving for Aer Lingus in 2019.
Cruz had been BA boss since 2016 and will stay on as its
non-executive chairman for a transition period, IAG said.
Doyle faces a huge challenge at BA, which like all airlines,
is struggling due to low levels of flying during the pandemic.
IAG last month raised 2.74 billion euros ($3.24 billion) to
reduce its debt and help it survive the pandemic.
"We're navigating the worst crisis faced in our industry and
I'm confident these internal promotions will ensure IAG is well
placed to emerge in a strong position," Gallego said in a
statement.
The last few months have been tough for Cruz who was tasked
with driving through 13,000 job cuts at BA, making him a
frequent target of trade union hostility.
Gallego, who had been boss of IAG airline Iberia, pipped
Cruz to the IAG top job earlier this year, replacing Willie
Walsh.
Gallego and Cruz previously worked together at Spanish
airline Vueling, now also owned by IAG.
Analysts suggested that a number of high-profile blunders at
BA under Cruz, including a data breach for which it was fined
$230 million in 2019, and an IT failure in 2017 which left tens
of thousands of passengers stranded, would not have helped his
cause.
Cruz was also at the helm last year when BA pilots went on
strike for the first time, costing the airline more than 137
million euros.
IAG said Fernando Candela, CEO of its airline Level, would
take on the new role of group chief transformation officer.
It named Aer Lingus' Donal Moriarty as interim CEO at the
Irish carrier and said a permanent replacement would be
announced in due course.
($1 = 0.8465 euros)
(Reporting by Sarah Young, editing by Michael Holden and Jason
Neely)