British Airways cargo traffic falls by almost 25%
British Airways today said its cargo traffic fell by almost 25% in the last three months of 2001 as trans-Atlantic trade plunged in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Europe’s largest airline reported a pre-tax loss of £160 million ($226 million), its worst-ever for the fiscal third quarter, compared with a profit of $91.6 million in 2000 of $2.6 billion. (2/5/2002)
The carrier recorded an operating loss of $266 million, also an all-time low for the quarter, compared with a profit of $114 million a year ago.
British Airways Cargo’s traffic fell 23.8% to183,000 metric tons from 240,000 tons in 2000, and revenue dropped 21.4% to $172 million from $219 million. This helped shrink revenues through the first nine months of the fiscal year by18.6% to $516 million while volume was down 19.7% to 570,000 tons.
The airline said demand is beginning to recover from the post-terror slump, but analysts still expect BA to cut from 4,000 to 16,000 thousand more jobs next week. It has shed 5,700 jobs since Sept. 11.
The restructuring is expected to focus on BA’s unprofitable short haul European services, but cargo operations also could be affected as Chief Executive Rod Eddington pursues an ambitious target of profit margins close to 10%.
Author:Newsdesk, eyefortransport.com
