BA blames economy for fall in passenger numbers

Published on 03/07/2008 21:50

BRITISH Airways last night admitted the consumer environment was "difficult" after a drop in passenger numbers.

BA carried 2.91 million passengers last month – a 2.9 per cent drop when compared with the last June.

Passenger numbers fell in all sectors, with UK and Europe traffic down 2 per cent, North and South America dipping 3.4 per cent, Asia Pacific falling 2.9 per cent and Africa and the Middle East 7.6 per cent down.

BA planes were 76.7 per cent full in June compared with 80.5 per cent in June last year.

Premium traffic – first class and business class – was down 3.1 per cent, while economy-class fell by 3.8 per cent.

BA said Brent crude oil prices had risen from $110 per barrel at the beginning of May to $147 last month.

In a statement released yesterday, BA said: "Significant increases have been made to prices including surcharges reflecting this rise in fuel costs.

"The UK consumer environment is difficult leading to reduced traffic volumes.

"Long-haul premium and short-haul non-premium continue to be the better performing segments of the business."

In March, BA's passengers endured a catastrophic opening of Heathrow's Terminal 5, with flights cancelled, bags going astray and long queues.

The terminal is now operating normally and BA said it was "continuing to work well", with nearly 1.7 million passengers using it last month.

It added T5 was seeing significant gains in improved punctuality and baggage performance.