In a show of unity, the heads of the four largest British airlines - Carolyn McCall of Easyjet, Willie Walsh of British Arways, Michael O'Leary of Ryanair and Steve Ridgway of Virgin Atlantic - have reacted jointly to the government's announcement that it will maintain its plans to increase passenger tax. The tax will increase by 8% from next April. While calling for the tax to be abolished altogether, the four chairmen asked the government to carry out an independent study to assess its economic impact, particularly on employment. British Airways, for example, said that it had initially intended to create 800 jobs in 2012, but that it would have to halve this target following the announcement of this increase, while postponing the entry into service of a new Boeing 747, scheduled for next summer, and calling into question two other entries into service.
