British Airways CEO Willie Walsh says he is not concerned about the effects of proposed flight restrictions at New York Kennedy Airport on BA's extensive operations there, nor will the restrictions hamper plans for a new transatlantic business.

The delay problem at Kennedy is something that "must be tackled," Walsh told an audience of financial analysts in New York Nov. 5. Walsh said he "does welcome efforts to improve" efficiency at Kennedy. He does not believe the moves initiated by the U.S. Transportation Dept. and FAA would prevent BA from flying to JFK with its proposed "Project Lauren" subsidiary, but even if they did, BA has plenty of other East Coast options it is considering. JFK is not necessarily critical to the project, Walsh stressed.

FAA last month initiated a series of scheduling talks with carriers in an effort to reduce overscheduling at JFK. So far, only U.S.-based airlines are involved in the talks, although FAA has said it will address foreign carrier operations through a separate effort -- probably using IATA's global scheduling conference.

While he admits that some action is needed at JFK, Walsh notes regulators "don't have to reinvent the wheel." The IATA scheduling conference has been proven to work very well in other parts of the world, he said.

BA has plans to boost its London Heathrow-JFK mainline flights by next summer, but Walsh said U.S. regulators recognize that the rapid increase in congestion at JFK is due to U.S., rather than foreign, carriers. Regarding Project Lauren, Walsh said he would be reluctant to schedule any of its JFK flights in off-peak hours to avoid any restrictions. Such a move would not fit the proposed business model of the carrier.

The JFK restrictions will not diminish BA's transatlantic opportunities under the new U.S.-European Union open-skies deal, Walsh said. If anything, they would hurt BA's competitors, he believes; however, he did note that cynical observers would see irony in the new open-skies agreement being swiftly followed by the restriction of access at JFK.

BA will probably be ready to announce routes for Project Lauren by the end of this month, Walsh said. He would not reveal which non-U.K. European departure cities BA is considering, but he has conceded that Paris is an obvious contender. On the U.S. side, BA is looking at cities "considered primary business destinations," rather than destinations regarded as secondary. BA is considering mainly U.S. cities it already serves because it has infrastructure in place.

The airline plans to transfer two of its own Boeing 757s into Project Lauren and has identified another 757 it can bring in, if required. The 757s would probably be replaced in the BA fleet by A320s, Walsh said. During an earnings call last week, Walsh said the pilots for the Project Lauren airline will work under a separate contract, similar to what BA has done with other subsidiary airline operations in the past.

Walsh does not believe BA will make another application for antitrust immunity with American in the near future. The last two failed applications proved that the penalties that would be imposed for ATI would outweigh any benefits. While he is "optimistic" the situation will eventually change, the current regulatory environment does not make ATI a practical consideration, he said. To try a third time and fail would "bring into question [the carriers'] longer-term ability to strengthen their relationship."