British Airways expects its operating loss for the year to March to total £150 million, £25 million more than previously forecast, following a fresh downturn in passenger numbers.
BA’s traffic figures for March show a 13% fall in premium traffic against a year ago, reflecting a decline in business travel and downgrading into economy of some corporate travellers. Economy traffic was down 6% year on year, leaving BA’s average flight capacity at 72.1% compared with 79% a year ago. The bulk of BA profits come from business travel.
The biggest regional fall in passengers was in the Asia Pacific, but it is the transatlantic decline that is hitting BA profits hardest, with UK-US services among the most-profitable in the world.
BA announced a further 300 job losses through voluntary redundancy, chiefly in administration, following the loss of 480 managers in December – one in four of the total.