United Kingdom
United States
Asia Pacific
BA profits soar by £100m – staff get £48m bonus
Annual pre-tax profits at British Airways rose by more than £100 million to £620 million in the year to March.
Chief executive Willie Walsh revealed that the airline’s short haul network had moved into the black for the first time in a decade.
But he stressed that more needed to be done with total costs up by more than 8% with fuel and employee costs “a challenge”.
BA’s annual fuel bill rose by 44.7% to £1.6 billion, while staff costs were up by 5%.
Announcing the improved profit from £513 million the previous year, Walsh said: “These are good results with revenue performance driven by improvements in seat factors and yield.
“We achieved an operating margin of 8.3% and as a result all of our staff will share in a £48 million bonus. We remain committed to our goal of reaching 10% margin by 2008.”
He added: “Self-service check-in, both online and at airport kiosks, has been very well accepted by our customers. We continue to enhance and develop new products and, this summer, we will upgrade our inflight entertainment and introduce our new Club World flat bed.”
BA turned around a four quarter pre-tax loss of £6 million last year into a profit of £91 million.
Chairman Martin Broughton described market conditions as “broadly unchanged”, saying that revenue was expected to improve by 5-6% in the current year, up from a previous estimate of 4-5% due to the impact of fuel surcharges and increases in seat factor.
“As previously stated, fuel costs, net of hedging, are expected to be about £600 million more than last year, up from our previous guidance of £400 million, due to the recent strong rise in fuel prices,” he said. “Costs, excluding fuel, are expected to be unchanged.”
Report by Phil Davies
Phil Davies
Tony from Gatto’s Pizza on Columbus’s Unique Pizza Trail
Sophia Hyder Hock on Global Social Inclusion in Tourism
Sustainable Tourism: Don Welsh on Community Values and Global Collaboration
Jane Cunningham: Enhancing European Engagement in Tourism
Kristin Dunne: Navigating Destination Strategy
Revolutionizing Mobile Connectivity: Boris Bijlstra on HUBBY eSIM
Capturing Glasgow’s Vibrancy: An Interview with Susan Deighan, Chief Executive of Glasgow Life
Lebua Hotel & Resorts: Rajan Khurana on Hospitality and Bangkok’s Charms
Sustainable Tourism and Growth: Insights from Chiravadee Khunsub from Tourism Authority of Thailand
Revolutionizing Travel: SmartSIM USA’s Dale Takio Unveils the Power of E Sims
TravelMole Interview with Hishan Singhawansa, Deputy CEO of Cinnamon Hotels & Resorts, Sri Lanka
Unveiling the Essence of Magari Tours: A Dive into Authentic Italian Experiences
EU airports bring back 100ml liquid rule
British Airways passengers endure 11-hour 'flight to nowhere'
CLIA: Anti-cruise demos could cause itinerary changes in Europe
Co-pilot faints, easyJet flight issues ‘red alert’
Gatwick braces for strike