British Airways was formed in 1974 from its predecessors merging. Theses airlines were the former BOAC and BEA. British Airways was known as the 'flag carrier' airline for the UK, meaning it was the national airline and owned by the state. This was the case until 1987 when the airline was privatised.
The airline is still the UK's largest scheduled airline. British Airways handles both passenger and freight business, flying to more than 400 destinations worldwide. Many routes are offered in partnership with other airlines using codeshare arrangements. The airline returned to profit in 2010, the first since 2007, making £157 million pre tax profit.
British Airways has suffered from employee relation problems over the last few years, in particular, a cabin crew dispute which caused disruption in 2010. A company wide volunteer scheme helped keep planes flying.
In 2011, British Airways merged with a Spanish airline 'Iberia'. This meant the creation of a new holding company, International Airlines Group (IAG). The company is registered in Spain but has its head office in London and shares on the London and Spanish stock exchanges. It was anticipated that the merger would produce synergies and therefore reduce costs. A target reduction of £400 million over 5 years was set, some of which would come from reduced labour costs. The merger had implications for training with 9000 BA staff and 4000 Iberia staff to be trained in the new business model.
Task1: Choose four HR strategies that could be implemented by British Airways. Explain each of the strategies and its application to British Airways.
Task2: British Airways merged with Iberia in 2011. Analyse the impact of the merger on strategic HRM at British Airways.