BA to cut 3 – 5% of flights; raise fares this winter
16.07.08
British Airways is to reduce its flights by 3% to 5% this winter season and introduce fare rises, due to the rising cost of fuel. The airline said yesterday that it said it was too early to say exactly what routes will be affected, but the bulk of the cuts are expected in the number of flights to short haul destinations. Long-haul routes are not expected to be affected.
Ticket price rises, possibly of more than 4%, were ‘absolutely inevitable’, BA's chief executive Willie Walsh said yesterday. He said: ‘It's absolutely inevitable that prices will go up. Fares will have to go up.’ Mr Walsh promised: ‘We will not cut flights that our customers most value.’
BA has already scrapped hundreds of flights over the summer, merging half empty flights to popular destinations to reduce its consumption of fuel. Rival Ryanair said yesterday that it is cutting passenger numbers by a total of 500,000 this winter and other airlines - including easyJet - are likely to follow suit.
Speaking after the airline's annual meeting Martin Broughton, the chairman of BA, said yesterday that airlines were up to their necks in ‘perhaps the biggest crisis the aviation industry has ever known’. Mr Walsh warned it would ‘not be an easy year’ and said it would be a considerable achievement if the airline broke even.
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