BA owner suffers big shareholder revolt over pay

BA owner IAG suffered a significant shareholder revolt on Tuesday over plans to pay outgoing chief executive Willie Walsh and other executives large bonuses even as it struggles through the worst crisis in its history. A fifth of voting shareholders voted against the company’s pay report, which includes a bonus of GBP883,000 for Walsh for his work in 2019, as part of a total package worth just under GBP3.2m. Influential shareholder advisory group ISS had urged investors to vote against the packages at the group’s annual meeting, arguing there was “ample evidence” the industry was about to face turbulence when they were announced. IAG executives have since taken pay cuts as part of a cost-cutting drive. IAG said it was “disappointed” that just over 20% of shareholders voted against the pay award. “The board will continue to engage with shareholders to fully understand their concerns,” it said. Walsh told shareholders on his final day as CE: “Aviation has been decimated by the impact of the pandemic, resulting in substantial losses for the global industry. It is the worst crisis we have ever faced.” Walsh handed over to Luis Gallego on Tuesday, a company insider who ran Spanish flag carrier Iberia for almost seven years. The Spaniard will have to chart a course through an uncertain winter as Covid-19 cases rise and the company downsizes itself to reflect the impact of the pandemic. IAG is also in the process of renegotiating its E1b deal to buy Air Europa, which it expects to go through in the next six months. “My goal is to ensure that IAG adapts to the ‘new normal’ in aviation,” Gallego said.<br/>