Vaccine progress should allow Britain-U.S. reopening – BA boss

PARIS (Reuters) – British Airways is well placed to lead a European travel recovery from COVID-19 if relatively swift vaccine rollouts in Britain and the United States enable transatlantic routes to reopen, Chief Executive Sean Doyle said on Wednesday.

“There’s an immediate opportunity to open up the U.S.,” Doyle said during CAPA Live, an online industry event.

With the two countries “more or less mirroring each other” on vaccination, Doyle said, “that should lead to the UK and the U.S. being able to lead the way in terms of opening up.”

Transatlantic re-opening would play to the network strengths of British Airways and parent group IAG, he added. “The breadth and depth of the network we have provided there historically has been a competitive advantage for us.”

(Reporting by Laurence Frost; Editing by Hugh Lawson)