Longtime IAG CEO Willie Walsh Retiring, Iberia Chief Named Replacement

International Airlines Group (IAG) announced Thursday that longtime CEO Willie Walsh is retiring.

According to The Associated Press, IAG officials revealed Spanish airline Iberia CEO Luis Gallego would replace Walsh. IAG is the parent company for both Iberia and British Airways.

The changes come as the airline group has continued its international expansion, reaching an agreement to purchase Spanish rival Air Europa for $1.1 billion in September.

IAG launched in 2011 and now serves more than 268 destinations around the world. In total, the airline group’s brands carry around 113 million passengers each year and earned a net profit of $3.2 billion in 2018.

Walsh is leaving after a rough year for British Airways, which experienced a strike by its pilots in September that grounded nearly all of the airline’s flights and impacted thousands of passengers around the world.

Flights to and from London’s Heathrow and Gatwick airports were canceled as a result of the British Airline Pilots Association (BALPA) members taking action following a dispute over pay.