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Zoom meetings and other pandemic-era strategies have proved so successful that they are jeopardising the prospects for firms that cater for business travellers, by reducing the number of journeys executives need to make.
Now British Airways, which is losing millions of pounds each day, is joining the organisations inviting employees to make less travel part of working life.
Stuart Kennedy, BA’s director of people, has written to office staff to outline changes to working patterns.
In an email, he says: “People have adapted well to working away from their offices. Yes, the experience of working from home can feel very different to the office, but it’s no less productive.
“Many people want a hybrid way of working when this crisis is over – a way of working that blends elements of remote working with office-based working. And that’s what we are going to explore further as a solution at British Airways.”
Mr Kennedy then explains that the pattern will vary from team to team, based on the type of work they do. And he says BA’s £200m headquarters building may be sold off.
The airline’s Waterside HQ, in landscaped grounds northwest of Heathrow, was completed in 1998 – a time when BA was prodigiously profitable with insignificant competition from the likes of easyJet and Emirates.
It has been largely empty since lockdown with staff working from home.
BA’s director of people tells staff: “It’s not clear if such a large office will play a part in our future – in fact we’re working with a specialist property company to gauge if the sale of Waterside would be beneficial.
“Regardless, we’ll want to consider what the ideal office layout for the future will be. Perhaps it’s less fixed desks and more casual meeting areas.” A spokesperson for British Airways said: “The global pandemic has shown us that many of our colleagues enjoy working remotely and want to continue, and this has accelerated our approach to offering more agile and flexible ways of working.
“Our aim is to find a hybrid working model that suits our business, blending the best of office and remote working for our people. We’ve also re-structured our business to emerge from the crisis and are considering whether we still have the need for such a large headquarters building.”
British Airways is part of IAG, a conglomerate that includes Aer Lingus and Iberia of Spain.
The IAG chief executive, Luis Gallego, said in its annual report: “We recognise that customer expectations will change following the pandemic. With the rapid adoption of remote working technologies, it is likely the business travel market will also be different.”
Waterside is expected to be demolished if the controversial third runway at Heathrow airport ever goes ahead.
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