British Airways biggest loss sends shares up as a glimmer of hope appears; “Permanent changes” ahead

British Airways' dreadful first half result provided a bit of everything: gruesome losses again (UKP292 million before tax), the death of short haul premium, promise of a GBP1 billion reduction in annual revenue, talk of a Christmas strike - and all this bad news was more than offset by news of good cost reductions, hints of a slowdown in the decline in premium revenues, another reassurance of the Iberia merger going through, the potential for cost savings from more staff cutbacks and the delay of the first A380 delivery.