New Leisure Division

British Airways is consolidating some of its leisure activities into a unified leisure division, in order to offer a fully integrated range of leisure products and services.

Reporting to Tiffany Hall, Head of UK & Ireland Sales, the new division will be headed up by current General Manager Leisure Sales, Robin Hayes and will include Leisure Sales and British Airways Holidays.

Robin will lead a team responsible for the complete range of British Airways leisure products from flights only to inclusive holidays - sold through all distribution channels - travel agents, tour operators, specialist agents, British Airways Holidays, British Airways Travel Agents, British Airways Telesales and Britishairways.com.

Carl Michel, British Airways Commercial Director, said: "This move is in line with our strategy to further develop our profitable leisure businesses. By bringing many of our leisure elements together, we will be able to offer consistent and seamless holiday products and services to our customers, whether they buy via an agent, by phone or on-line."

Roger Heape, Managing Director of British Airways Holidays, will retire at the end of October. Roger joined British Airways Holidays in 1991 and was responsible for the merger and re-branding of Speedbird, Poundstretcher and British Airways Leisure Traveller under the name British Airways Holidays.

Paying tribute to Roger, Dale Moss, British Airways Director of Sales, said: "Roger has turned British Airways Holidays into one of the most successful inbound, long haul and city breaks tour operators. We will miss his in-depth knowledge of the tour operating business, as well as his larger than life personality".

Roger Heape will be helping to recruit a successor in the next few months.

Tricia Warwick, Head of Sales, UK & Ireland Leisure has made a decision to leave British Airways to pursue other interests. Tricia joined British Airways in 1996 as Head of Sales and Marketing for British Airways Holidays. She moved to mainline British Airways in 1998 where she held the position Senior Manager Leisure Relationship Marketing for a year before moving to Leisure Sales.

Tricia’s team of Sales Managers, responsible for the airline’s relationship with tour operators, retail agents, consolidators and specialist markets, will report directly to Robin Hayes.

A new e-commerce leisure sales team is also being created in order to support the increasing number of on-line travel intermediaries and agents.

A new Leisure Development team will be created within the Leisure Division which will be responsible for developing the airline’s leisure business opportunities.

The new leisure division will be supported by a dedicated marketing team and a new leisure pricing team.

Robin Hayes, 33, joined British Airways in 1989 and has worked in a variety of sales, marketing and customer service roles . For the past year, he has been General Manager Leisure Sales and before that he was General Manager Telesales and British Airways Travel Shops for three years, where he was responsible for the airline’s direct retail business.

The new organisation will come into effect on 3 July, 2000.