BA chief turns down bonus

British Airways chief executive Willie Walsh has turned down a bonus worth £334,000, the second year in a row he has made such…

British Airways chief executive Willie Walsh has turned down a bonus worth £334,000, the second year in a row he has made such a gesture, it was announced today.

Mr Walsh, embroiled in a bitter dispute with his cabin crew, was entitled to a bonus of deferred shares awarded to him by the board for the last financial year, it was disclosed in the airline's annual report published today.

He turned down a similar award last year.

BA also said that his salary has remained frozen at £735,000, the level it was set at in 2008.

Mr Walsh actually received £674,000 last year because he voluntarily gave up his pay for the month of July as the airline was making cost savings.

Nearly 7,000 other employees also took voluntary pay cuts.

BA said that under the remuneration arrangements set out in the annual report, no-one at the airline would receive cash bonuses for the second successive year.

PA