Abstract
Bob Ayling started to implement a large panel of audacious actions to produce BA as a world class company. First of all, he cut the top executive team from 25 to 14 to improve its efficiency and limit its cost. Then, he went on to establish an alliance with American Airlines to ensure that the two companies, together, could control 60 % of flights between the UK and the US. In 1997, he decided to make an identity change because the airline, carrying 60% of foreign passengers, had to portray as a "citizen of the world" rather than a national company.
