BA short haul reduction to hit Gatwick hardest

British Airways is set to trim its network of short-haul flights as it seeks to control losses incurred due to the high cost of fuel.

The cuts are expected to be announced this coming Friday along with the carrier’s first-quarter results, and will likely hit Gatwick Airport the hardest. The London area’s second-largest airport is where 20 per cent of BA’s short-haul flights are most at risk.

Highly-placed sources at the airline have indicated that Heathrow will also see cuts, and although Heathrow is the main operations base for BA, the cuts will be less significant than at Gatwick. Capacity reductions will be made during the winter season, running from October through April.

British Airways is following the low-cost carriers, easyJet and Ryanair in reducing its schedule. Ryanair has announced reductions in service at Dublin and Stansted airports over the winter season, and easyjet has recently indicated that it is scaling back its growth plan. Airlines in the US have taken even more extreme measures to control costs, by cutting thousands of jobs and ground hundreds of planes.

The price of jet fuel is behind most all of the cost reductions. One year ago, airlines were paying $500 per tonne, and the prices have now reached $1,300 per tonne.

A number of analysts are expecting that BA will break even at best this financial year, which is a major reversal over last year, when it posted its best performance since the early 19902, with profits of £850 million.

www.britishairways.com