Willie Walsh: Troubleshooter at the helm

London: British Airways (BA) and the Unite union have resumed talks to try to avert a weekend strike by cabin crew that would embarrass the ruling Labour government weeks before an election.

Here are some facts on BA Chief Executive Willie Walsh.

Walsh at BA

Soon after he took the helm at BA in October 2005, he reached a deal to tackle a £2.1 billion (Dh11.68 billion) pension deficit.

A security clampdown was initiated after British police said they uncovered a plot to blow up transatlantic airliners using liquid explosives in August 2006 threw BA's London Heathrow base into disarray, costing the carrier around £100 million.

Walsh, a veteran cost-cutter, has trimmed the airline's bulky management, offloaded its loss-making BA Connect unit and helped BA regain investment-grade status by resolving the protracted pension dispute.

He presided over the public relations disaster that was the opening of BA's new T5 terminal at Heathrow in 2008. Logistical problems forced hundreds of flight cancellations and tens of thousands of bags went missing.

Walsh has said the airline must move away from its old, inefficient ways if its long-term survival is to be ensured.