BA expects break-even result; bookings not affected by strikes

British Airlines CEO Willie Walsh stated the carrier's target for the current financial year is for a break-even position (Gulf News, 27-Aug-2010). He added that forward bookings "have not in any way been affected by the experience customers had seen during the industrial action".

British Airways: "The target for this financial year is for a break-even position. That would indicate a profit at operating level and we believe we remain on track with a combination of revenue growth and cost reduction. We have made progress so far this year and the general environment has improved since last year," Willie Walsh, CEO. Source: Gulf News, 27-Aug-2010.

British Airways: "When I look back to 2009 and think of some of the challenges we met then, clearly 2010 looks like a much less challenging environment. The biggest challenge, without any questions, has been the global economic environment and we are really pleased to see that recovery is evident in most of the key markets. All of the indicators that we are seeing at the moment in all of the major markets that we operate are positive but there are concerns in the background, particularly about the European economy and to a lesser degree the US economy, about the strength of the economic recovery. While we are not seeing anything that would cause us to be concerned about the recovery, we are hearing a lot of people express concerns, so I think one of the challenges that remains is the global environment and just how strong or fragile that recovery is ... Clearly the industry remains in a challenging position because of the high oil prices and I think these prices are likely to continue. Although they are about USD75 a barrel today, we have seen oil at over USD80 a barrel and I think with evidence of an economic recovery it's likely that the oil price will be over USD100 rather than USD50. The industry has had to adjust to increasing oil prices and I think that is something we will have to deal with again going forward," Willie Walsh, CEO. Source: Gulf News, 27-Aug-2010.