BRITISH
Airways is to cut a further 5,800 jobs and reduce payments to travel agents as
part of its Future Size and Shape review..
The job
losses will be made over the next two years and are in addition to the 7,200
the airline has shed since September 11.
From June
1, booking payments will be cut to £2.50 per sector for non-full fare domestic
and European tickets, reduced from £6. Full fare and domestic European booking
payments will be reduced from £11 to £5.
Long haul
booking payments will remain unchanged.
A number
of routes will be moved from Gatwick to Heathrow airports and 10 routes are to
be cut altogether, five short-haul and five long-haul.
BA chief
executive Rod Eddington said: “We started this review with one clear objective
in mind – to turn this company around. We will remain true to our heritage of
being a full service network carrier committed to customer service excellence
and world class products.
“But we
must transform British Airways into a simpler, leaner, more focused airline so
we can thrive and prosper in an increasingly competitive market.”