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British Airways is in talks to sell famous artworks worth millions of pounds, as the airline looks for ways to protect jobs and profits amid a severe slump in passenger demand caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
Valuers from art auction house Sotheby’s have been called in by BA to appraise its extensive collection of works, which include paintings by Damien Hirst, Bridget Riley and Peter Doig, according to people close to the situation.
At least 10 artworks out of BA’s collection, currently hanging on the walls of the airline’s businesses lounges and its Waterside headquarters near Heathrow, have been earmarked for sale. At least one piece has been valued at more than £1 million ($1.3 million), those people said.
The idea for the sale of the artwork came from a colleague.
BA declined to comment.
The potential sale of BA’s art was originally reported by the Evening Standard.
Airlines like BA, which is owned by International Consolidated Airlines Group IAG, -6.86%, have been slashing costs, laying off thousands of workers and parking their fleets to try to avert collapse in the face of an unprecedented travel slump.
Read:Lufthansa to cut 22,000 full-time jobs
BA is currently in negotiations with unions over cutting 12,000 jobs, as it struggles with the impact of the pandemic, with more than 1,000 pilot roles at risk that it says are necessary to survive.
The International Air Transport Association warned on Tuesday that the plunge in global travel will drive airline losses of more than $84 billion (£66 billion) this year, and nearly $16 billion in 2021, wiping out more than a decade of growth.
Read: Airline stocks can’t keep rallying as ‘autumn of discontent’ nears, analyst warns
IATA, which has 290 member airlines, said revenues would drop to $419 billion, down 50% from 2019 — steeper than initially forecast, despite signs that passengers are starting to return to the skies. By comparison, airlines lost $31 billion with the global financial crisis of 2007-08 and oil price spike in 2008 and 2009.
“There is no comparison for the dimension of this crisis,” Alexandre de Juniac, IATA Chief Executive said.
Carriers serving the U.K. now face an additional threat from the country’s new 14-day quarantine rule.
Read:U.K. stands by controversial 14-day quarantine for travelers
British Airways, EasyJet EZJ, -6.74% and Ryanair RYA, -6.37% have started legal proceedings against the U.K. government over the introduction of the mandatory quarantine measure for travelers arriving in the country from June 8.
On June 5, the three carriers sent a pre-action protocol letter to the government, describing the measures as “disproportionate and unfair on British citizens as well as international visitors arriving in the U.K.”
“We urge the U.K. Government to remove this ineffective visitor quarantine which will have a devastating effect on UK’s tourism industry and will destroy (even more) thousands of jobs in this unprecedented crisis,” the airlines said in the joint statement.
The U.K. travel and tourism sector contributed £200 billion to the U.K. economy last year, accounting for around 9% of gross domestic product and almost four million jobs, or 11% of the country’s entire workforce, according to data from the World Travel & Tourism Council.
