BRITISH Airways is thought to be losing up to £7 million a
day from its North American operations, denting its already poor financial
performance.
Its share price plummeted 21% on the day of the attacks on
New York and Washington, just a week after the airline announced it will shed
1,800 jobs over the next six months.
BA is facing its worst crisis since the Gulf War and is
reeling from the loss of its lucrative transatlantic business, said to
represent at least one-third of the company’s total revenues. The airline
operates 35 flights a day between the UK and US, of which 10 are to either New
York or JFK or Newark airports.
City analysts predict BA will be hard-pressed to fill seats
in a market that is likely to be severely affected by a downturn in global
travel.
“BA is cutting overall capacity by 20% over the next three
years to focus on business and first-class traffic,” one analyst told Travel
Weekly.
He added: “As businesses put their travel plans on hold,
this will impact hugely on BA’s financial performance and operations. It is
going to be an extremely difficult situation over the next 12 months.”