British Airways has charged headhunters looking for a new director to find someone who could one day succeed Willie Walsh, the airline's chief executive, it emerged yesterday.

In a move that will ignite fresh speculation over Mr Walsh's future at BA, the airline wants someone with enough experience to be considered a potential candidate for the top job.

BA is seeking a chief operating officer to step into the roles of two executives released in the wake of the Terminal 5 debacle at Heathrow.

Mr Walsh dispensed with the services of David Noyes, director of customer service, and Gareth Kirkwood, director of operations, despite having said “the buck stops with me”.

A BA spokeswoman said yesterday that speculation that the chief operating officer would ultimately replace Mr Walsh was premature.

However, she would not dismiss claims that Whitehead Mann had been told that the candidate should be ready to join the BA board in one to two years and should see themselves as a contender to take charge of the business.

“They must be at a very senior level already within their organisation and have proven leadership skills. The person will report directly to Willie Walsh and have in excess of 20,000 people in their department,” she said.

Mr Walsh joined BA in October 2005 and, despite plaudits for agreeing a deal with unions over BA's pension fund, much of his tenure has been dogged by controversy, from lost luggage to a ban on cabin crew wearing crosses.

Jim McAuslan, general secretary of Balpa, the pilots' union, wrote an open letter to the Government last month calling for a change in the way in which BA is managed.

Mr Walsh is expected to face more pressure on Friday when BA reports full-year results.

Analysts believe that the airline may be forced to issue a profit warning, given record fuel prices and a slowdown in consumer spending.

Investors also fear that BA may not pay a final dividend, despite last year signalling that it was ready to do so for the first time since 2001.

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