UPDATE 1-British Airways CEO says 'great opportunity' for UK-U.S. travel

(Adds background, IATA comment)

LONDON, April 26 (Reuters) - The chief executive of British
Airways said there was a "great opportunity" for Britain and the
United States to open a travel corridor given their high
vaccination rates, and said he was optimistic for European
travel from June onwards.

Airlines are readying their planes, pilots and crew for
travel this summer, hoping for a bounce back after over a year
of pandemic restrictions, although governments have yet to agree
the details of how and when the restart will work.

British Airways chief executive Sean Doyle, who took the
helm of the IAG-owned airline in the middle of the
COVID-19 crisis last October, said that travel between Britain
and the United States should be restriction-free.

"If you look at the progress of vaccinations that the UK and
the US have made, they're almost neck and neck," he said,
speaking to an online industry conference.

"I think the U.S. is a great opportunity to get up and
running again."

Travel between Europe and the United States is also on the
cards.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told a
newspaper on Sunday that all Americans who have been vaccinated
against COVID-19 should be able to travel to Europe by the
summer.

Europe's vaccination programme lags the progress made in
Britain and the United States, but Doyle said that June would be
a tipping point.

"I think it does give you room for optimism that Europe will
be able to open up," he said.

Shares in many travel stocks traded higher on Monday, buoyed
by von der Leyen's comments, including BA-owner, IAG, which was
up 4.3%.

Global airlines industry body IATA said that von der Leyen's
comments gave people hope, but called on the European Commission
to provide dates and public health benchmarks to help airlines
plan.

"To fulfil that hope, details of the European Commission’s
intentions are essential," IATA director general Willie Walsh
said.

Doyle called on Britain to make its travel rules more simple
and accessible, and said more co-ordination between different
countries on travel rules was needed.

(Reporting by Sarah Young, Editing by Paul Sandle and Emelia
Sithole-Matarise)