AS Bob Ayling marched through the Scottish Passenger Agents’ Association dinner in Glasgow, he could have been forgiven for thinking he was being led to the gallows.
Throughout the opening address, the British Airways chief executive looked like a condemned man.
Ayling’s appearance at the association’s 70th anniversary bash as guest speaker could not have come at a more uncomfortable time for BA, with agents up and down the country in vengeful mood.
There were a few of them in Glasgow.
First to speak was former SPAA chairman Roy Brabender – and he wasn’t slow to put the knife in.
“BA’s Waterside offices is like a village with a cafe society, a supermarket and restaurants. But you won’t find a travel agent. Nor will you find a village idiot – because they take it in turns,” he said.
Ayling remained expressionless. Brabender went on to insist that BA “would not find a more successful distribution partnership than agents.”
It wasn’t until gone 10.30pm that Ayling rose to his feet. He began with a dig at Brabender.
“We actually contract out our village idiots. The problem is that we never get enough applicants,” he said. “I’ll give you the number, Roy.”
For the next 40mins, Ayling placated the potentially volatile audience with a skillful speech, failing to provide an opportunity for agents to voice their disapproval. He focused on technology.
Holding up a laughing birthday card he said: “There is more technology in this card than there was in the world before the 1950s. It’s hard to say how far this revolution will go. But we have barely started.”
Urging agents to join BA in the technological age, he said: “We said 50% of our business will be on-line within three years and agents will be an important part of that.”
He even got a laugh. After failing to get a response to a joke, Ayling opened the card to provide his own laughter. Who would have thought it.