| Journal: TWUK | Section: |
| Title: | Issue Date: 01/05/00 |
| Author: | Page Number: 3 |
| Copyright: Other |
British Midland boosts profit
A NEAR 10% rise in passenger numbers last year helped British Midland improve pre-tax profits by £2.5m.Main increases were on Heathrow routes to Amsterdam and Nice which helped push profits from £11.2m in 1998 to £13.7m last year. Passenger numbers rose from 6m to 6.5m.
Chairman Sir Michael Bishop welcomed the figures, especially in the light of tough competition.
He picked out the Amsterdam and Nice routes as examples of where the airline has improved traffic despite competing flights from EasyJet, British Airways and European flag carriers.
Sir Michael used the two routes to emphasise that improved competition at Heathrow boosted traffic overall and should be encouraged on transatlantic services. British Midland is due to launch US services in summer 2001 but has yet to gain approval.