The Guvnor
5th January 2002, 16:47
From today's Scotsman
[quote]BA sees figures start to recover
Andrew Murray-Watson Senior Business Reporter
TWO of Europe’s largest flag carriers gave encouragement to the beleaguered airline industry with a signal that the impact of the 11 September terrorist attacks may be fading.
British Airways reported a "measurable improvement" in market conditions despite a 10.4 per cent fall in passengers during December compared with the previous year.
But the rate of decline is less than the 17.8 per cent and 24.7 per cent drops recorded for November and October respectively.
Fortunes at KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, closely linked to BA, also improved. December traffic was 8 per cent down on the previous year, compared with a 10 per cent drop in November and 12 per cent in October.
Shares in both flag carriers rose steeply, with BA stock closing up 13.4 per cent at 238p.
The number of BA passengers travelling in the UK and between the UK and Europe dipped by 6.5 per cent to just over 1.8 million.
Business to the Americas showed the largest fall - down nearly 14 per cent to 506,000 - while the Asia-Pacific service showed a 9.7 per cent decline to 151,000. Africa and the Middle East were 11.5 per cent lower at 215,000.
In November, BA reported a 98 per cent collapse in profits in the three months to the end of September, to just £5 million, after being hit by the economic fallout from the 11 September attacks on the US.
But yesterday the flag carrier said overall revenue was "exceeding initial expectations" despite being well below last year’s level.
Other European airline stocks firmed in the wake of the encouraging figures. Shares in Germany’s Lufthansa climbed 5 per cent and Air France rose 6.1 per cent.
Meanwhile, no-frills airline Go continued to demonstrate the inroads made by the low-cost sector as it reported a surge in passenger numbers.
The group carried 340,384 people in December, a 57.3 per cent improvement on the previous year.
Load factor - which represents passengers as a proportion of seats available - was up 1.6 per cent at 70.5 per cent.
The airline said Scottish traffic had been particularly strong over the festive period .
Go was sold by British Airways last year and since then has been expanding by increasing the number of planes and routes it operates.
It recently announced plans to open a new base at East Midlands Airport. Yet despite the strong year-on-year improvement, its figures showed a dip in passenger numbers over two consecutive months.
In November, the Stansted-based airline flew 357,327 people, a fall of 39,987 on the previous month, which it attributed to the introduction of the winter timetable, when it flies to fewer destinations. A spokesman said that the last two months of 2001 were not comparable because of reduced capacity on some routes in December, in particular Dublin to Edinburgh and Glasgow.
The airline’s load factor remained steady, losing just half a percentage point at 70.5 per cent compared with 71 per cent in November.<hr></blockquote>
[quote]BA sees figures start to recover
Andrew Murray-Watson Senior Business Reporter
TWO of Europe’s largest flag carriers gave encouragement to the beleaguered airline industry with a signal that the impact of the 11 September terrorist attacks may be fading.
British Airways reported a "measurable improvement" in market conditions despite a 10.4 per cent fall in passengers during December compared with the previous year.
But the rate of decline is less than the 17.8 per cent and 24.7 per cent drops recorded for November and October respectively.
Fortunes at KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, closely linked to BA, also improved. December traffic was 8 per cent down on the previous year, compared with a 10 per cent drop in November and 12 per cent in October.
Shares in both flag carriers rose steeply, with BA stock closing up 13.4 per cent at 238p.
The number of BA passengers travelling in the UK and between the UK and Europe dipped by 6.5 per cent to just over 1.8 million.
Business to the Americas showed the largest fall - down nearly 14 per cent to 506,000 - while the Asia-Pacific service showed a 9.7 per cent decline to 151,000. Africa and the Middle East were 11.5 per cent lower at 215,000.
In November, BA reported a 98 per cent collapse in profits in the three months to the end of September, to just £5 million, after being hit by the economic fallout from the 11 September attacks on the US.
But yesterday the flag carrier said overall revenue was "exceeding initial expectations" despite being well below last year’s level.
Other European airline stocks firmed in the wake of the encouraging figures. Shares in Germany’s Lufthansa climbed 5 per cent and Air France rose 6.1 per cent.
Meanwhile, no-frills airline Go continued to demonstrate the inroads made by the low-cost sector as it reported a surge in passenger numbers.
The group carried 340,384 people in December, a 57.3 per cent improvement on the previous year.
Load factor - which represents passengers as a proportion of seats available - was up 1.6 per cent at 70.5 per cent.
The airline said Scottish traffic had been particularly strong over the festive period .
Go was sold by British Airways last year and since then has been expanding by increasing the number of planes and routes it operates.
It recently announced plans to open a new base at East Midlands Airport. Yet despite the strong year-on-year improvement, its figures showed a dip in passenger numbers over two consecutive months.
In November, the Stansted-based airline flew 357,327 people, a fall of 39,987 on the previous month, which it attributed to the introduction of the winter timetable, when it flies to fewer destinations. A spokesman said that the last two months of 2001 were not comparable because of reduced capacity on some routes in December, in particular Dublin to Edinburgh and Glasgow.
The airline’s load factor remained steady, losing just half a percentage point at 70.5 per cent compared with 71 per cent in November.<hr></blockquote>