Relationship Marketing Strategy and implementation

rolled over the beaches and the battle for the landing grounds has already

been joined. The gateways of today are the airfields deep in the territories

which they serve. A commercial battle is raging on the landing grounds of

Europe which will determine whether London will remain Europe’s principal

gateway for long-haul traffic or be displaced by Paris, Frankfurt or

Amsterdam. The position of London as a great financial centre and of BA at

the hub of a network of international routes are legacies which cannot be

reinvented but can surely dissipate by wrong headedness or by negligence. If

this country wants to continue to have a major international airline, BA must

be allowed to grow and face on reasonably equal terms the emerging air

armadas of the 21st century.^15

When Margaret Thatcher was removed from Government by Conservative
MPs in 1990, the BA Chairman lost a friend at the heart of government.
That loss, together with the absence of the privatization imperative, meant
that BA probably had less influence on the Government. As was mentioned
above, in 1991, the two major US carriers United Airlines and American
Airlines were granted landing rights at Heathrow. Together with start-up
Virgin Atlantic, the arrival of these new carriers has meant that BA’s share
of business travel began to drop significantly in the 1990s.
At the Annual General Meeting in July 1991, BA unveiled its most trau-
matic restructuring since flotation. The company also withdrew its annual
£40 000 contribution to the Conservative party. King told the meeting that
the company had been hard hit by the recession and the Gulf War and

478 Relationship Marketing

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1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995

Figure 6.2.3 Productivity – ATKs per employee (000).