British Airways could be facing a serious shake-up of its operations and practices following the appointment of its new chairman and chief executive.

Alex Cruz took both roles in April 2016, replacing Keith Williams who had worked at the airline for 18 years having joined from PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Although he has been a staff member of BA owner International Airlines Group since 2013, his recent background is from the low-cost carrier (LCC) sector, having founded Clickair in 2006, which merged with Vueling in 2009 in a deal that saw him become chief executive of the airline.

He believes it is this experience he will draw on as he seeks to ensure the airline is fit to compete in the 21st century.

Cruz said: “What Willie [Walsh, IAG chief executive] is expecting me to do is bring in some of the ways of working that a company like Vueling has had to adopt to survive in an incredibly competitive environment.

“We’re looking at many different things as to how we can make BA more competitive.

“My emphasis is not on making BA a low-cost carrier; that would be a mistake.”

Instead, Cruz said the airline would focus on the customer and is looking to use technology to improve the experience at all stages of the journey.

He also denied recent reports that a decision to replace a free-food service on short-haul flights with a paid offering was a done deal.

However, he added: “If we do move to a buy onboard set-up for European short-haul flights, it will be by far the best proposition of any airline that has done it.”