well done willie!
however is it not the time to have a controller of airports to ensure that it is not just airlines that are sanctioned for poor performance?
we waited for an hour a gatwick for bags because only 3 of the belts were working, and the airline, easy jet was 10 minutes early.

john haydon rowe, javea,

Mr Walsh was caught in the classic 'catch22'; take the bonus and loose your job or forego it and tighten your belt.

john, milton keynes, uk

He was probably advised to give up the bonus to alleviate the pressure from big shareholders. The main failure with T5 is that BA did not foresee the possibility of problems or put in place contingency plans as any competent manager should have done. This is due to poor judgement and arrogance.

john, london, UK

This shows managers' rewards are geared to short term profits instead of long term growth. This culture has brought the financial sector to its knees and demonstrates how remuneration packages need changing throughout the corporate sector. No personal risk and no personal investment, NO BIG PAY OUT

peterfieldman, paris, france

Has not the company's profits increased by £270M because last year they were fined £270M for price fixing?
Does the £300M increase in sales not reflect the increases in fuel surcharges?
Exactly what has Mr Walsh achieved to deserve a £625,000 bonus?
Ask his paying passengers in Terminal 5!

Jim Oliver, Leicester,

So he's managed business transformation over three years and delivered good results, and he loses his reward for that work because of a few weeks of lost luggage. Seems a little harsh and short sighted to me. Overall he's done well for the company.

Tim, London, UK

The 'smooth-talking' 'kissed-the-Blarney-Stone' Mr Walsh should have been fired - instead he found 2 scapegoats to take a silver-handshake to keep his job. The fatter get fatter and the thinner get thinner .

Hugh, Buckfastleigh, England

No penalty clauses written into the contract then? Why was it left to him to decide?

jj, Cambridgeshire, UK

This is an admirable move by Willie Walsh. How many company CEOs waive their bonuses? He has taken personal responsibility for the T5 problems, apologised for the situation, has delivered bumper profits and has waived his bonus. I also take my hat off to him.

keith, Orpington,

Given BA's record profits announced today, perhaps BA can now afford to reduce the fuel surcharges?

Richard, Bexhill, UK

He should resign. I've been a BA customer on long haul flights for 10 years but after the pathetic way they dealt with my cancelled flight and the way they dodge compensation payouts, I'll never spend a penny on them again (even if they were on fire!).

Andy, Seattle, USA

So this is what the fuel surcharge is meant for..boosting profits for BA to record levels. My impression was that fuel surcharges prevented the company from making a loss. As the profits are being divided between employees and shareholders, can I have all my money, paid as fuel surcharges, refunded?

A. Khan, London,

"acceptance of responsibility "
can anybody please advise what exactlly does that mean
where does his declined bonus money go etc.,
on tv he came across as mr nice guy who made a mistake
let him wear a hair shirt and do some community service and i may give him some credit.

John Cochrane, Tynemouth, England

Good to see some contrition after an admission of error.
Now when is Gordon going to follow?

Pay back the treasury for the losses on the tax credit fiasco.

Pay back the pension investors for their tax robbery

Pay back the treasury, again, for the misstimed gold sales

Pay back......

Steve Douglas, Wimborne, U.K.

Is he actually completly giving up the bonus, to the benefit of the shareholders, or is he just defering the bonus to take later in less sensitive times?

Whatever, T5 was the flagship big project for BA. The problems were of management and he should go.

John, Shefford,

He should have taken the bonus- his responsibility is to shareholders not to customers and he has delivered them an excellent set of results. The T5 thing is unfortunate but as long as they protect their customer base going forward it won't affect the company that much

Matt, London,

They didnt test the software properly....how many times have I heard and seen that . There are so many bad managers out there who think that IT is magic.

michael newport, london,

Waives it...? How can his performance contract entitle him to it?

al, epsom,

I totally agree. Good to see a man taking the responsibility rather than the lump sum,

M Hughes, Hertford, UK

I for one take my hat of to Mr Walsh - finally an executive who is prepared to put his hands up, admit there's been errors, and take a personal hit for it. All too often the leaders of these gargantuan companies watch on as mistake after mistake is made, and then continue to accept vast bonuses.

Christopher Crichton-Rankin, Poulton-le-Fylde, Lancashire, UK

£625,000 is a pretty fair acceptance of responsibility isn't it?

S. Barraclough, Huddersfield, W. Yorkshire