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Terror Investigations Underway in France and U.K.; Trump Weighs in On Cutting Off Qatar; Airline Boss Explains British Airways Meltdown; Exclusive: United Airlines CEO Oscar Munoz; White House Defends Donald Trump's Use of Twitter. Aired 4-5p ET
Aired June 06, 2017 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[16:00:00] ZAIN ASHER, CNN ANCHOR: And that sound, that gavel, that round of applause there marks the end of yet another trading day on Wall Street.
The Dow ended down ever so slightly. Down about 45 points were so. But take a look at this. It was pretty much in the red all day. Not a sliver,
not a sliver of green as investors literally wait for James Comey's testimony on Thursday. Make sure you save the date.
And speaking of dates, it is Tuesday the sixth of June. Tonight, terror investigations on both sides of the English Channel as crucial elections
approach. New diplomatic blows for Qatar now that Donald Trump is piling it on. And the boss of IAG tells us why British Airways suffered a
meltdown.
Hello everyone, I'm Zain Asher and this is QUEST MEANS BUSINESS.
Good evening everyone I'm Zain Asher. We'll have all the days business news in just a moment but first I want to give you an update on the terror
attack in Europe that we been following. Terror investigations across Europe are putting the continent on edge as an attack in London and Paris
comes just days before key votes in both countries. Of course. the U.K. election happening on Thursday and then parliamentary elections in France
happening in just a few days as well.
And Britain we're learning new information about the ringleader of the London attack. Here's a photograph of him. Counter terrorism forces tell
CNN that Khuram Butt was seen as one of the most dangerous extremists in the country in 2015 but there was no evidence found that suggested that he
was in the middle of plotting an attack. Earlier the police named the third and final attacker and Saturday's rampage where seven people were
killed. 22-year-old Youssef Zaghba is believed to be an Italian of Moroccan descent. Police say he was not a person of interest before the
attack. We are learning so many new facts about this attack. Yet just one year earlier this man Zaghba was stopped by Italian police who then put him
on their security watch list.
Just a few hours ago in Paris police shot a man who tried to attack them with a hammer outside the famous Notre Dame Cathedral. Defense Interior
Minister said the attacker was carrying knives and shouted, "This is for Syria." We have the latest developments from both cities. We've got Nic
Robertson. He's joining us live now from London and Jim Bittermann from Paris for us.
So, Nic I want to begin with you. Let's talk about the ringleader of the London attacks. You've been talking to people who knew him. You know, he
was someone who was labeled as one of the most dangerous extremists in the country in 2015. Explain why he slipped through the cracks.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Well one of the reasons he slipped through the cracks was because he was very, very good
about not breaking Britain's terrorism laws. He was very careful about what he said privately, about what he said out in public. And what the
police and authorities were doing here since 2014 and they started focusing on him in 2015 with what they call a full package of investigation. What
they decided to do was the only way they can take down the organization that he was part of, al-Muhajiroun, was to put them under a microscope --
put the individuals under a microscope and check out if they were involved in any other sort of minor criminal offenses. So, he was thrust under that
microscope.
But the gentleman that I met earlier today, a former radical, who knew Khuram Butt, the lead attacker, who knew him but himself went to jail. Was
subsequently de-radicalized. I've known him now for well over a year, almost 2 years. I'm the man who de-radicalized him. I've known him for
about six or seven years. I talked to him about what he knew about Khuram Butt, and he told me something quite shocking. That he saw Khuram Butt
just three weeks before the attack and unlike all the videos we have seen of Khuram Butt up to date, where he has a long beard and is dressed in what
you can describe as Arabic clothing. Three weeks ago, his beard was closely shaved and he was wearing Western-style cloths as if in a way to
blend in.
So, I asked Jordan Horner in the light of that did he see anything about him at that moment that could indicate that he was on the verge of an
attack. This is what he told me.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JORDAN HORNER, REFORMED RADICAL: It was nothing because that's why it's still a shock to me in a shock to the people that knew him that he would do
something like that. And as well, you know, on a personal level I know that he had the birth of his baby daughter a few weeks ago, a few months
ago. So, psychologically I can't understand how man who's just had a baby is going to go and -- you know, someone who's just experienced and
witnessed new life coming into the world. And then want to go and take life from other people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[16:05:10] ROBERTSON: So, he told me that the bub that he knew was relatively quiet, didn't speak a lot. Wasn't a sort of a big -- not a big
charismatic type leader leading the group, but sort of someone within the organization which surprises him. Because he wouldn't -- he told me, if
somebody had said to me there's been an attack and somebody you know was involved in the attack. He said, I wouldn't have picked him. He said,
there were tens or even hundreds of other people that he said he knows that he might've picked first for being involved in the attack but not him.
ASHER: Yes, that fascinating and it's an interesting point that he made that it is surprising that someone who had just had a baby would actually
go to the length that he did and carry out this attack. Jim, I want to bring you in. What more we learning about the suspect in the Paris attack
earlier today?
JIM BITTERMANN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: He in fact had kind of an unusual profile as well. He apparently was carrying an ID card
that showed him to be an Algerian student, but he's 40 years old, if his birth certificate or his birth details are correct. Police say that he has
been injured and shot by the police and in the hospital but should be able to recover and should be able to tell them more. And as you mentioned in
the lead in, he cried as he attacked the policeman with a hammer, he said, "This is for Syria." And that immediately led the police to turn this over
to the prosecutor, the terrorism prosecutor here in Paris. And they've opened a terrorism investigation.
The policeman by the way, who was injured, was hit with a hammer from behind in the neck. He's 22 years old and he was just a beginner on the
police force. He was not injured that badly but his colleagues were very quick to respond and able to shoot the attacker and not hurt anybody else
around. Because that area in front of Notre Dame is just filled with thousands of people on a day like today.
And inside the cathedral itself, there were about 800 or thousand people inside who had to go through a lockdown procedure for the next several
hours and they had to be inspected one by one by the police just to make sure there were no accomplices of the assailant involved inside the
cathedral. Zain.
ASHER: All right, thank you, to both of you, Jim Bittermann and Nic Robertson live for us there. Thank you.
All right, these two attacks came as both France and the United Kingdom prepared to go to polls. First up the general election in Britain on
Thursday. Security and Brexit are major campaign issues. And then on Sunday the first round of the French parliamentary elections as well.
President Emmanuel Macron party is expected to win a majority. In the U.K. the polls, as we been saying, as we been reporting, have tightened quite a
bit. Yet the final projections from opinions suggest the Tories are heading for an increase majority. It puts the Conservative Party on 43
percent and Labour on 36.
The polling company YouGov says the race could actually be much closer. It says that maybe no outright winner, meaning a hung parliament. Joe Twyman
is the head of political research for Europe at the British polling company YouGov. Joe, thank you very much for being with us. Just explain to us
why is there such a wide range in terms of polling results from these various polls and what does that tell us?
JOE TWYMAN, HEAD OF POLITICAL RESEARCH FOR EUROPE, YOUGOV: Well, firstly the polls are only ever a snapshot of public opinion as it stands at that
time. In the poll you quoted from us, which was based on a statistical model published last week, was showing the data from back then was the
opinion survey shows much more recent data certainly after the events in London this week. And that's important because this campaign, more than
any other in living memory really, has fluctuated hugely as people's attention has turned from one candidate to another, from one party to
another.
And then crucially the decision about whether people would choose to vote or not has been made. And that's really the explanation for why there such
a difference. Because when you look at the underlying data it's pretty consistent across the organizations before adjustments for turnout are
made. But then different assumptions are made in different ways and that's what causes the difference.
ASHER: So, Joe, is the main issue for voters -- is it more security, because we've seen a spate of terrorist attacks in London, lone wolf
attacks, or is it more Brexit? What are your thoughts?
TWYMAN: When we asked the general public, what's the most important issue facing the country? And we've asked them throughout the campaign. In
every single survey the top answer has been Britain's negotiations with the EU. That really casts a cloud over all of these elections proceedings.
Now, security and defense was not so important. It was in high up the agenda. It was the start of the campaign. But we've not just one but
unprecedented two attacks during an election campaign.
[16:10:00] We have seen that rise up and it's now on a par with what I would describe as the other second level issue, such as immigration, the
economy, taxation and health. But it doesn't get ahead of Britain's relationship with the EU.
ASHER: So, British pollsters, as you know, have had of course, two major misses, both being the 2015 election and then of course Brexit. Are you
sure it's going to be different come Thursday?
TWYMAN: What I can promise is that we made an awful lot of time and effort to identify those types of people who we need to represent more in our
surveys to ensure that they are representative of nature of the nation as a whole. And we've spent hundreds of thousands of pounds recruiting people
to the panel to take part in our survey. So, can I promise that we will be, exactly right? No, unfortunately I can't. All polls are subject to a
margin of error. But can I promise that we've done everything to make it as accurate as possible? Yes, I can.
ASHER: We shall see. We'll know the answer in a couple of days. All right, Joe Twyman, live for us there. Thank you so much.
As the British government calls for tech companies to do more to stop extremism. Vodafone says it wants to block its advertising from appearing
on sites that promote hate speech and fake news. Working with partners like Google, Facebook, WPC, Vodafone's so-called white list approach takes
human judgment into account. I spoke to Matt Peacock from Vodafone and I asked him what's the goal of these new rules. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MATT PEACOCK, DIRECTOR OF CORPORATE AFFAIRS, VODAFONE: We have a set of beliefs and principles and values as a business and we do not want our
advertisements appearing in outlets that are fundamentally contrary to those beliefs and principles and values. It's really disturbing to us that
for example, as a company that believes very strongly in women's empowerment, as a consequence of the way digital advertising works, our
brand could appear in websites and in channels that are focused entirely on misogynistic, women hating content. We're not prepared to accept that.
So, the primary purpose here is to ensure that our brand appears in the places that are closer to our own values and doesn't appear in places that
are fundamentally harmful to society.
ASHER: So, you don't want Vodafone ads to appear next to offensive content and also what Vodafone defines as fake news. Just explain to us what
exactly is Vodafone's definition of fake news?
PEACOCK: Where an outlet exists predominantly -- its main purpose for existing is essentially intentionally to mislead people by presenting, what
we call fact based news -- as opposed to satire and opinion, which is excluded -- without any primary source or with a fraudulent attribution to
a primary source. That kind of content is harmful. That kind of content is designed to mislead the public. Is designed to undermine democratic
processes --
ASHER: But how difficult is that?
PEACOCK: -- again we don't what our band to associated with.
ASHER: How difficult is that to clearly defined?
PEACOCK: Well, when you look at individual outlets and you ask yourself the question, does this outlet -- is its predominant purpose -- in those
words predominant purpose are very important as part of the test -- is it predominant purpose to communicate news presented as facts -- so not
opinion and not satire -- that has absolutely no primary source whatsoever or a bogus primary source. It's made up, it's not real. That's
deliberately intended to mislead people. You know, it's not hard to recognize it when you see it. Is the honest answer. It requires human
intervention. It requires people with an understanding of how news works. Not an advance understanding, but certainly an understanding of how news
works. Not algorithms. You can't get there through technology alone. It actually needs people to do it. But you recognize it when you see it.
ASHER: So then, what more should Google and Facebook be doing to monitor automated advertising do you think?
PEACOCK: Well, actually we work pretty closely with Google and Facebook on this. And they've been very helpful in essentially working with us to move
from what previously was a blacklisted system, a blacklisting basis from where our advertisements would appear online anywhere other than those
areas that had been specified in the blacklisting, so, pornography for example. Towards what we have now which is a white list process where
essentially, we've defined a way of identifying those outlets that we believe are brand safe.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ASHER: Matt Peacock speaking to me earlier.
[16:15:00] Qatar diplomatic crisis is deepening as the country finds itself increasingly cut off. The Foreign Ministers of Qatar in the UAE speak
exclusively with CNN. That story next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ASHER: U.S. President Donald Trump is taking credit for Qatar's growing isolation in a pair of tweets the president wrote. Let me read for you
here. "So, good to see the Saudi Arabia visit with the King and 50 countries already paying off. They said they would take a hard line on
funding extremism, and all reference was pointy to Qatar. Perhaps this will be the beginning of the end to the horror of terrorism!"
Six countries including Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates has cut off diplomatic relations with Qatar. They accuse Qatar of
supporting terrorism and destabilizing the region. It's the worst diplomatic crisis to get the region in decades. Qatar has strongly
rejected the accusations. Speaking exclusively with our Becky Anderson. The Qatari Foreign Minister pointed out the U.S. government has issued
multiple reports praising Qatar's role in combating terror financing. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MOHAMMED BIN ABDUIRAHMAN AL THANI, QATARI FOREIGN MINISTER: President Trump said that he's talking about combating funding of Islamist ideology.
For us, were combating the funding of any terrorist groups. Actually, during the conversation with the President of the United States, between
him and his highness, he has raise this issue that this is the funding of terrorism needs to be stopped by different countries and he told us that I
read a lot of reports that mentioning Qatar and Saudi and other countries. And we told him that those reports based on media information, which is not
really based on evidence and we are willing to sit and talk.
BECKY ANDERSON, CNN MANAGING EDITOR, CNN ABU DHABI & ANCHOR: All right, let me just reiterate then the accusations against Qatar. Saudi says that
is cut ties because, and I quote, "Of your countries embrace of various terrorist and sectarian groups and destabilizing the region." They say
that includes the Muslim Brotherhood, Al Qaeda, Islamic state and group supported by Iran and Saudi Arabia restive Eastern province of Qatif. Is
that true or false?
AL THANI: With all that respect but this statement is full of contradictions because it is saying that we are supporting Iran and from
the other hand we are supporting the extremist groups in Syria and we are supporting Muslim Brotherhood and Saudi or in Yemen and we are supporting
the Sunni from the other side. In all battlefields, there are adversities and about our support to the Saudi opposition or the sectarian moves, this
is totally false information. Actually, the cooperation between our security and intelligence agencies between Qatar and Saudi have been
serving the purpose of the national security of Saudi.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[16:20:10] ASHER: The squeeze on Qatar is tightening. The Philippines says it will not send any more workers to Qatar until the effects of the
crisis are clear. Qatar is heavily dependent on foreign workers including around 140,000 Filipinos are ready there. The Philippine government said
it citizens will be the first to suffer in the event of food shortages. Saudi Arabia has canceled Qatar Airways license to operate in the kingdom.
The airline has arranged charter flights from Jeddah to Oman to retrieve stranded passengers. Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain and Egypt have all close
their airspace to Qatari traffic. You're looking at a live view of Qatar Airways planes in the region.
As you can see the crisis has both lengthy and costly diversions for Qatari for flights. John Defterios is in Dubai for us. He joins us live now.
So, John, you spoke with UAE minister of state and foreign affairs, what did he tell you specifically about what he wants from Qatar to restore
trust?
JOHN DEFTERIOS, CNNMONEY EMERGING MARKETS EDITOR: Zain, we have a very clear indication that why they reached a boiling point and he said it's
directly linked to terrorism financing. He is the first to speak for this newly formed coalition. Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, and Egypt. And we
can add country to the list that didn't break diplomatic ties entirely, but the King of Jordan putting out a statement saying that they'll reduce
diplomatic ties. Zain, this goes back to 2014 according to the UAE minister. Sheikh Tamim of Qatar when he took over the throne from his
father, pledged to change the practices of Qatar. And now the UAE minister said, they broke our trust and it's going to be very difficult to rebuild
it. Let's take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANWAR GARGASH, UAE MINISTER OF STATE FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS: I think is an accumulation of Qatar's behavior in the region. And especially I would say
over the last period very, very huge logistical, financial support for extremist groups. To support also to some terrorist organizations such as
Al Nusra and some organizations in Libya and other areas such as the Sinai and other areas. And this really the crux of the issue.
DEFTERIOS: Do you have hard evidence? Because Doha is denying this. Sheikh Tamin said it doesn't exist as evidence of financing terrorism. Nor
even supporting Iran. What is the concrete evidence?
GARGASH: There's a lot of evidence and Doha has built over the years a large network. And I mean, just look at the small example of the ransom
that was being paid to various terrorist groups in Syria and Iraq and that ransom camouflages the sort of support that we are seeing.
DEFTERIOS: This is the closest thing I've seen to an economic blockade on many fronts. What are you hoping to accomplish from the young Amir of
Qatar?
GARGASH: Well, I think two things. I think the first thing is to make it clear that the various countries, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the UAE, Egypt and
other countries are fed up with this sort of duplicity that we've seen that has been undermining the region. And to send a strong message that this is
time for cooler heads to restructure Qatar's approach on foreign policy.
DEFTERIOS: It raises the question the Amir of Kuwait is trying to broker a truce, if you will. Is that possible? Because Saudi Arabia is taking a
particularly tough line. Closing Qatar Airways offices. Suggesting from the central bank they don't want to trade in Qatari rials. Do they want a
solution here?
GARGASH: I think we start that we have an agreement in 2014 on paper, signed by them, you know, Qatar, pledging that he will abide by various
grievances that we have put in the agreement. And they have not held to that agreement. So clearly, there is a lack of trust.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
DEFTERIOS: Zain, it sounds like a long road back here to try to bridge the gaps between Qatar and this coalition. Gargash also suggested there is a
very defined difference between an independent foreign policy by Qatar and one that is in undermining foreign policy, in his words. Let's update our
viewers on what's taken place in the last hour. The Amir of Qatar did visit Saudi Arabia. He's reportedly going on his way to Qatar to try to
mend the fences between these two parties right now. No word of any success. And in fact, the sources I've been speaking to in the last 24
hours don't expect any early success as this economic blockade is built up against Qatar right now. And Qatar is saying, it has quite a war chest to
write it out. A lot of tensions on the table tonight.
[16:25:13] ASHER: So, Qatar is saying they have a war chest to ride it out. But let's talk about Qatar Airways, because they're going through a
lot right now. Firstly, you've got low oil prices, which has actually reduced spending power in the region. You've also got the laptop ban and
now the airline is having to take these long-winded routes to get to their destination. What's going to be the near-term effect, John, for the
airline?
DEFTERIOS: Yes, in fact, they shut down the airspace, this coalition. So, Qatar is using the passageway north of the country through Iran.
Additional 200 flights a day. It'll be interesting that this actually brings Iran and Qatar closer together. That's what people here in the
region are watching. The brass tacks is that 18 percent of Qatar Airways overall traffic capacity comes from these four countries and now you can
add Jordan feeding into Qatar which is very cost competitive when it comes to tickets going forward. But again, a Qatar Airways spokeswoman that I
spoke to today, speaking on behalf of the chief executive, suggests that it's not all doom and gloom. We can ride this out but it's nearly 1/5 of
their capacity, Zain. So, it will provide some turbulence, if you will, for Qatar Airways. But that hub in Doha has been built up tremendously
with a new airport over the last five years, no doubt about that.
ASHER: Turbulence, turbulence, I like where you're going with that, John. All right, that play on words. Thank you so much. John Defterios live for
us there. Thank you so much.
After 75,000 passengers were stranded, an estimated $130 million was lost. The CEO of British Airways parent company is explaining what went wrong.
An exclusive interview with Willie Walsh. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ASHER: Hello everyone, I'm Zain Asher. Coming up on the next half hour of QUEST MEANS BUSINESS, the CEO of United Airlines tells Richard what he
learned from the recent passenger scandal. That is by the way, and exclusive interview.
And U.S. policy in 140 characters or less. The White House says Donald Trump's tweets are official statements. Before that these are the top news
headlines we are following for you at this hour.
The man who attacked the Paris police officer at Notre Dame, Tuesday, shouted, "This is for Syria." That's according to France's interior
minister. The man is believed to be an Algerian student. He attacked the officer with a hammer. Police say he was also armed with knives as well.
The officers condition is considered not very serious.
[16:30:00] British authorities have named the third Terrace behind the London Bridge attack, Youssef Zaghba, a 22-year-old Moroccan Italian, who
Italian police had put on a security watch list. Butt has been identified as the group's ringleader. Counterterrorism sources tell CNN he was
considered a significant, potential threat in an investigation it started to years ago. But investigators found no evidence he was plotting an
attack.
In the past few minutes Jordan has decided to lower its diplomatic representation with Qatar according to a government statement. Qatar says
it is open to mediation to solve the regional diplomatic crisis, several countries including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates said on
Monday they were cutting ties with Qatar indefinitely. They accused Doha of supporting Islamic extremist groups. Qatar says the accusations are
unjustified and baseless.
So, can you believe it, British Airways says it was the flip of just one wrong switch that has 75,000 passengers stranded for a three-day holiday
weekend. In his first interview since the technical blunder, the CEO of the parent company IAG told our Richard Quest that power was accidentally
cut to the servers triggering a series of failures that brought operations to a halt. You see the lines there at the airport there in the UK.
Speaking at the World Air Transport Summit in Cancun, Mexico, Willie Walsh explained what happened, who is at fault, and how British Airways is moving
forward.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WILLIE WALSH, CEO INTERNATIONAL AIRLINES GROUP: We know a lot of what went on, we are still trying to understand exactly why some of the issues went
on but basically, there was a technician in the switch-room, the uninterruptible power supply switch-room. He was there to prepare some
work that was going to be done on a Wednesday. And while there, something happened, we think we know what it was, which disconnected the power. I
think the bit that people have not understood, the uninterruptible power supply is a unit that has main electricity, if main electricity fails and
you have backup generators. And if the backup generators fail you have a battery, and the battery is designed to give you about 30 minutes.
If you switch that off, then you don't have the backup. So. people have been a little bit confused as to why the center did not continue to run.
So, it was an immediate loss of electrical power.
QUEST: So, it was the loss of the very power that was supposed to be the backup and the backup to the backup
WALSH: And what happened then was, that in itself would have created a problem for us, we reckon that we could have recovered from that with some
disruption and delays. I don't think we would've needed to cancel any flights. We could have recovered and maybe about two hours. What happened
though is that the power was then brought on in an uncontrolled fashion. And it was bringing the power back on which created the power surge, the
power surge then damaged -- did physical damage to servers, power distribution panels, and other connections, and that then required all of
these pieces of equipment to be replaced.
QUEST: Your critics will say that that is an explanation and it is a valid explanation, but hang on, how does an organization, a sophisticated
organization like BAIAG, have somebody switching something off, and then switching it on again in such a fashion?
WALSH: It is a great question, Richard, that is the question we asked. As I said we believe we know what happened but we don't understand why it
happened. And that is what the investigation will hopefully will reveal. So, we have commissioned an independent company to do an investigation,
they will look at every aspect of this. Their work and their report we will then have peer review by another group. So, we are confident that we
will get to the very bottom of this. Clearly, this was terrible for our customers and we apologize. And I would not wish this on anybody. You
have the systems to provide you with backup. You have people who are qualified. You believe they should know what they are doing. This
shouldn't have happened, it did happen, and what we have to do is make sure it doesn't happen again, and to recover from it.
QUEST: So, to the accusation that outsourcing is behind this, that you got rid of 700 jobs, you outsourced to Tata Consultancy, what do you say?
WALSH: Absolutely, has nothing to do with it. Absolutely, nothing to do with it.
QUEST: I mean what is a matter of switching off --
WALSH: No, he wasn't an employee, but interestingly, this has been with a supplier company that is very reputable, and I'm not going to name them,
for years. In fact, I can't find when it was ever operated internally, so this is specialized equipment, that you have specialized people, probably
qualified to operate.
[16:35:00] So, you always tend to try and trust your suppliers, make sure that they are doing it, but this was somebody qualified in there,
authorized to be in there, but should not have -- well, let's say what happened should not have happened.
QUEST: The call for Alex Cruz to resign, he didn't.
WALSH: No, and he shouldn't.
QUEST: I was about to say if he had, would you have accepted it?
WALSH: No, I wouldn't. I think it is unfair. Alex is devastated by this. If for one minute I thought there was something that Alex had done, a
decision he had taken that led to this then clearly, I would challenge him. But there is nothing that I can see that leads back to Alex Cruz.
QUEST: Should either you or Alex have come out in spoken to the press? I know you did videos but that is now the easy way out for chief execs to get
their message out without having to answer questions in the heat of the crisis.
WALSH: I have never been afraid to talk to the press. You think you have to remember this was a BA operational issue, that we have defined
structures in place, we have systems in place, we have processes in place. The structure of an airline is regulated, it is approved by the safety
regulator. Now, it is Alex's responsibility, the people of said to me why didn't you do it? It is his responsibility to do it.
Now I think he did as well as he could do in the circumstances. Everybody will say that he could have done better. And would I have done it
differently? Of course, I would've done it differently. The question is what I have done it better? And that is a question that you can ask, but I
am not sure that I can answer. I like to think I have more experience at these issues, I've had more of these problems to deal with. So, I can
understand the frustration, and I can understand why media want immediate explanation. But you got to remember, and you would know this better than
anybody, Richard, we needed to establish what happened.
We still have to establish why it happened. And it was extremely difficult. And Alex had to focus on getting British airlines back flying.
QUEST: Coming on top of all the other unfair criticism, food charging, whatever it might be, how do you put the British back into British Airways?
How do you put the crown back on your logo? And polish up the shield?
WALSH: I think we will do that, the brand is incredibly resilient, very strong, and we are very proud of it. And we will work to ensure that the
steps that we take are designed to secure the brand for trust the long- term. There are things that we have to do to change. You know this industry, there are so many fantastic brands that have existed for years
that disappeared because the businesses did not adapt to the challenge of the day and the challenge of the future. Have we covered ourselves in
glory? Most definitely not. Will be repair this? Absolutely. We will work hard, and I know there is great commitment from within BA. I think
the people on the ground deserve great credit for doing their best in incredibly difficult circumstances.
And we apologize to everybody. We got BA back up and running very quickly. And that was the focus. And then we started looking at what happened. And
we will understand why it happened, and we will make sure these things don't happen.
QUEST: It is very pleasant here, what is your message to airline CEOs in the room. I know because many have told me privately, other airlines
basically said we will take BA's passengers do not worry about payment. We'll negotiate paper just get their passengers home. Which is good.
WALSH: It is great and you are absolutely right --
QUEST: What is your message to them about how in the same way Oscar Munoz learned what can happen when you are least expecting it. You have not seen
another example, what is your message?
WALSH: Well, my messages learned from the problems people encounter. I have always said that. Learn from your own mistakes. But better still
learn from somebody else's. I am very open about what happened, I want to share your findings with people so that, if there is a fundamental flaw in
the way that we operate, I don't believe there was, but if there is, then others can learn from that and we can make sure the people don't suffer the
same consequences. I wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy. I wouldn't want to see anybody suffering what BA suffer. And I wouldn't want to see
any customer of any airline going through what our customers went through.
QUEST: And if another airline was in trouble, you would respond in the same way. You would email in the same way that other CEOs said, take their
passengers, and will worry about the bill later.
WALSH: It was great to see it, we got fantastic support and clear that is what people want to do.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ASHER: All right, still to come here, CNN talks about Donald Trump's tweets, and then Donald Trump tweets about CNN. We will ask our media
expert Brian Stelter what on earth we should make of every single 140- character tweet from the commander-in-chief? That is next.
[16:40:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ASHER: At 7:54 AM on the East Coast of the United States, CNN's New Day began a segment asking whether Donald Trump's tweets could account as
official White House policy. And then within four minutes, the commander- in-chief actually chimed in on Twitter, he wrote," the fake mainstream media is working so hard to try and get me not to use social media, they
hate that I can give an honest and unfiltered message out."
So, let's talk more about this with our Brian Stelter, our resident media expert in chief. It is interesting, so Donald Trump says the mainstream
media wants him to stop tweeting, but I would actually beg to differ.
BRAIN STELTER, CNN RESIDENT MEDIA EXPERT: I would too.
ASHER: He has been keeping us rather busy, Brian, especially you.
STELTER: I was on New Day during that segment, I don't know if it is a coincidence, or the President weighed in during the segment, but certainly
his tweeting behavior is front and center right now. Because almost every day he seems to be both making news, but also stepping on his own
administration's desired news stories with his tweets. He is undermining his own staff members.
ASHER: Why? I don't get it.
STELTER: Why? I wish I had a psychology degree. I really do think part of this speaks to the emotional state of the president. If he is in an
angry or foul mood, if he is frustrated by news coverage or by his own white house behavior, he weighs in on Twitter. You can also tweet when
he's feeling good when he's feeling upbeat about the world, we've seen that. But recently it has been very negative, very temperamental whether
it is about this issue involving the travel ban and the courts, or whether today he has weighed in about our views of his tweeting.
But most journalist do want him to be tweeting, we are getting a real-time sense of what he is thinking via twitter.
ASHER: So, Brian, cannot just be cynical for just a second. Is this really about distracting everyone from the James Comey testimony happening
in two days? This is sort of like, look over there and we all rush and look over there. And we don't pay attention to what's happening.
STELTER: I don't think that is too cynical, but I think he could do a better job if that was the intent. If the intent was to create an
alternative storyline for the week, this was supposed to be infrastructure week at the White House, the administration was going to emphasize its plan
for infrastructure funding. That really hasn't happened, the president has not used twitter to do that, instead he's picking fights, making it
personal, complaining about news coverage. Yes, it could be to some degree wanting to distract from Comey. Let's see what he does on Thursday. We
will see if he live tweets during or against Comey's testimony. White House says he has a very busy day on Thursday, we know he is going to give
a speech at one point during Comey's testimony. I have a feeling and networks will be showing Comey though, and not the president. So, it is
going to be very interesting to see how, if at all he responds to Comey.
ASHER: It is interesting because given all the sort of craziness happening in terms of the different tweets that we have seen whether it is about the
London terrorist acts or -- it is interesting because we actually got word today that his tweets should actually be considered official White House
statements. What you make of that?
STELTER: This has been a debate for days within the news media, if the president is tweeting is it just a tweet or is it something more? I would
say it is definitely something more, if the president is not issuing press releases and he is only tweeting, then that is an official statement.
[16:45:00] And today Sean Spicer agreed, he said if the president is tweeting it, it is an official statement from the White House. I think,
everybody, people from the U.S., people from around the world are having to get used to the idea that leaders are announcing things via twitter.
Sometimes in President Trump's case impulsively.
ASHER: Here is a question for you, you obviously, are part of media, but you also can be objective. What do you make of our or the mainstream
media's in general coverage of every single tweet that Donald Trump makes?
STELTER: This is new and certainly the word new is within the word news, when there is something new about a president's behavior and this certainly
is, it gets a lot of attention. Kellyanne Conway the Trump aide says we are obsessed with his tweets, maybe there is sometimes too much interest --
ASHER: Are we? Are we?
STELTER: I don't think there is an obsession with the tweets, but there is an obsession with understanding why is the president weighing in, why is he
saying the things that he is saying, in the way that he is saying them? It is also, this is an anti-media strategy by the president, when he condemns
fake news, when he complains about press covering his tweets, he is tapping into his audience's frustration with the mainstream media, his base's
hatred of some news outlets. I think partly his twitter behavior this week as part of that.
ASHER: It was so great to have you on, see, you just clear it up for me, I was so confused today and then you cleaned it up. Thank you so much.
STELTER: I'll get back to twitter.
ASHER: OK. Brian, thank you.
On Wall Street, all major indices all ended lower, the Dow lost 48 points, oil prices spiked pushing energy stocks higher for the day. The diplomatic
crisis in Qatar helped drag European stocks into the red. All the major indices ended lower. The oil and gas stocks finish slightly positive for
the day. Investors are looking ahead to the UK general election and European central bank meetings, as well as the James Comey testimony, all
of those. It is going to be a busy week, guys, all of those land on Thursday.
Russia is spending billions to host next year's FIFA World Cup. In today's episode of Marketplace Russia, Neil Curry takes a look at preparations.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FIFA SPOKESPERSON: 2018 FIFA World Cup, ladies and gentlemen, will be organized in Russia.
NEIL CURRY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: When FIFA announced that Russia would be the host of the 2018 football World Cup, this was met with
celebration at home but suspicion from those convinced that the sport's governing body was not playing fair.
Both FIFA and Russia deny wrongdoing over the selection process but several investigations are continuing to examine bribery claims. Concerns over
football hooligans, race and gender discrimination were raised and countered by Russian officials who promise a safe and hospitable experience
for visiting fans.
And there was a question of whether the Russian economy could afford the multibillion-dollar outlay on building stadia and transport links. Not a
problem, we were told.
ALEXEY SOROKIN, CEO, 2018 FIFA WORLD CUP RUSSIA: Certain roads, certain transport infrastructure would have been built anyway. The stadium
would've been built to anyway, maybe two years later, maybe five years later. But there is a natural need for that. Regions have certain
development, they developed naturally. The World Cup is just accelerating this development.
CURRY: Along with the sporting memories, the experience of previous tournaments in Brazil and South Africa included a substantial financial
outlay for the host nations. With many questioning whether the legacy of infrastructure and exposure to tourism justifies the cost.
Meanwhile FIFA which made a $2.5 billion profit in Brazil, has been slow to attract sponsors for Russia.
MURAD AHMED, REPORTER, FINANCIAL TIMES: It seems that the biggest concerns that sponsors have is the reputational damage. You want your brand, your
company stamped as essentially endorsing an organization like FIFA which has had issues around corruption, in a country like Russia which is seen at
least in the West as an aggressor in the recent conflict with the Ukraine over Crimea. And there is a feeling that you don't want any part of
endorsing either of those two entities.
CURRY: FIFA's secretary general Fatma Samoura told the Russian news agency TASS there is a need to rebuild trust among sponsors following a turbulent
two years. But FIFA can .2 recent deals with Qatar Airways and the Chinese electronics giant. And say they are continuing talks with other potential
partners.
The final whistle will blow on the World Cup on July 15 next year, but the financial referees will likely require extra time to consider whether that
is money well spent. Neil Curry, CNN St. Petersburg.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[16:50:00] ASHER: Still to come on QUEST MEANS BUSINESS an exclusive interview with the boss of United airlines, he tells us how the company has
changed two months after a passenger was forcibly removed from a plane. Oscar Munoz talks to our Richard Quest next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ASHER: Welcome back everybody, the CEO of United Airlines tells CNN the company is making progress in the ways employees interact with passengers.
United made major changes after a man was dragged off one of its planes about two months ago. The incident, you remember by this video, it sparked
global outrage. It of course ended up becoming a PR nightmare for the airline. Richard Quest spoke exclusively to the United CEO Oscar Munoz at
an industry summit in Mexico.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
QUEST: Oscar, the report that you brought out or that the airline had in terms of the measures you were going to take as a result of Dr. David Dao
incident, give me an update on the progress.
OSCAR MUNOZ, CEO, UNITED AIRLINES: Thank you for asking that. We announced 10 different things of which seven of them have actually been
enacted in some way, shape or form. In fact, just yesterday, our customer alternative solutions to travel desk with a just opened. And I just got an
email just recently of three great examples of how we proactively understood an issue, headed off before it happened, put people in different
structures together, and got them to their destinations fairly safely. So, we are well on progress to the ones that we have announced, we will be done
here in the next couple of months.
And more importantly as we said, this is a journey not a destination. So, we have got more things that you are going to see us announce over the
course of time.
QUEST: And this idea of empowering staff at the very lowest levels or medium levels, are you starting to see results from that?
MUNOZ: It was empowering, yes, it was the right word but it is also giving them the chance for some common-sense application. So, with regards to
denied boarding for instance, involuntary denied boarding is down 80 percent since last May. And that is because our booking people are doing
the right thing, are people at the boarding gate doing the right thing, and customers actually understanding how this works, but also doing the right
thing.
QUEST: And you tinkered yet with the overbooking formula, has that come into play? Because the argument has always been, are you actually
implementing?
MUNOZ: As the truth is told, we always do that on a regular basis. We have accelerated certainly, and that has helped part of the 80 percent
reduction but yes, we put that in the police immediately. We know the routes, they are technically most often overbooked to some degree. So, we
are relaxing those a little bit. We are trying to understand that. More importantly we are putting our revenue management people out at times in
the airports to understand what an overbooking situation does to people.
QUEST: Are you satisfied -- you are obviously not satisfied with what happened, but are you satisfied with the rate of progress that you are
making?
MUNOZ: You can never be satisfied with everything, because all these instances arise. It is absolutely on track beyond the technical protocols
and policies we are putting together, the values that support customer service are what really are beginning to take hold with our employees on
the front lines.
[16:55:00] QUEST: Let's talk about your familiar of course with British Airways thing.
MUNOZ: I am.
QUEST: What lesson do you all learn from another major IT?
MUNOZ: As you know, it has happened across the industry in different places. I think certainly from an investment perspective, I think we all
invest, certainly United, it is our second largest expense category. But more importantly you have to understand that inevitably something is going
to go wrong, you have to worry about the recovery mechanism. How do you get recovered, how do you get customers back on your aircraft safely and to
their destination?
QUEST: Thank you for your time, but if you look at the industry, you're making money, not as much as you were last year, with every potential for
continuing sustainability, are you content that the industry has learned that lesson of I think you call, feast and famine, boom and bust?
MUNOZ: We do have a history of that, and I think that it is important that we understand that we put the right economic cushion underneath us, but
that we start thinking about the future, about growth, about customer oriented investments that are important going forward. Because what will
sustain us is not cost management per se, it is customers coming and using aviation, using airlines is a favorite mode of transportation. So, I think
we have to think about the past but more importantly invest for the future with what the economics have turned out to be in this industry thus far
this year.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ASHER: Oscar Munoz talking about what the company has learned from that major PR hiccup, and by the way if you have missed part of the show or just
want to take us on the road while you're driving, you can now download our show at a podcast, it is available from all the major providers including
iTunes or you can listen at cnn.com/podcast. And guys, that is QUEST MEANS BUSINESS, I am Zain Asher in New York. Thank you so much for watching CNN
today.
END
