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HomeAviationBritish Airways: 2002 to be as challenging as last year – says Rod Eddington

British Airways: 2002 to be as challenging as last year – says Rod Eddington

Traffic figures may have improved but they have to be taken in context of promotions and a reduced flying programme, according…

Traffic figures may have improved but they have to be taken in context of promotions and a reduced flying programme, according to British Airways<.> Chief Executive Rod Eddington.



Mr Eddington said: British Airways started the year with what could have been seen as good news. Our traffic statistics for December showed that passengers load factor was 68.6 per cent – up 1.5 points on December 2000.



Market conditions in December continued to be difficult but showed a measurable improvement on the previous month. There are some things worth considering when it comes to these latest statistics.



Our flying programme was greatly reduced – capacity in December, measured in Available Seat Kilometres (ASKs), was 12.5 per cent below December 2000, while traffic, measured in Revenue Passenger Kilometres (RPKs) was still 10.4 per cent down.



And just because more people are flying as the months go by, that doesn`t mean we are making money.



Promotional activity, particularly in the economy cabin, has been successful but yield is expected to be weak due both to discounting and mix effects.



Even though revenue is exceeding our initial expectations, it is still well below last year`s level. No doubt this year will be as challenging as last. It is important that we don`t kind ourselves that glimmers of hope are the answer to all our problems. We must push on with our work to build a more robust airline.

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