Tricky trading conditions sees British Airways fly into the red

by James Agate

British Airways today announced its first quarterly loss since 1987, blaming tough trading conditions and the weakening pound.

Keith Williams, the BA chief financial officer, announced revenue of £1.9billion for the 3 months to June down 12% from the same time last year.

His presentation focused on the firm’s successful cost cutting programme which has seen the airline reduce fuel costs by 15% and non fuel costs by nearly 3%.

BA made an operating loss of  £94 million which was better than the market predicted but is still a stark contrast to the healthy £35 million profit that the airline made for the same period in 2008.

The company saw a pre-tax loss for the quarter of £148 million – its first since the previously state-owned airline was privatised in 1987.

Mr Williams made it clear that costs would be a key focus for the firm in the future and added “Trading conditions continue to be very challenging with underlying revenue down 16.8 per cent and no visible signs of improvement.”