BA to announce first summer loss

British Airways announces first ever summer loss since privatisation

British Airways will announce its first ever summer loss as the airline counts the cost of a gruelling six months.

Analysts have forecast a deficit of around £252 million for the six months to the end of September, compared with much-reduced profits of £52 million last year. It made a surplus of £616 million in 2007.

Friday's figures include the first ever April to June loss since privatisation, when BA slumped £148 million into the red. The half year is normally a buoyant period for the airline as it includes the holiday season, but this year has seen the industry battered by high fuel costs and much-reduced demand amid the recession.

The airline's previous low for the six month period was a pre-tax profit of £45 million in 2001/02.

The airline said costs had come down by 6.6% in the first quarter, but warned there was "much more to be done".

It has announced plans to cut total staff numbers by 3,700, in addition to a reduction of around 2,500 achieved between June 2008 and March 2009.

BA is locked in a fight with unions over its plans for job cuts and a pay freeze and has faced the threat of industrial action from different sections of its workforce.

Unite on Thursday launched legal action in the High Court in a bid to stop the imposition of new contracts for new cabin crew. It has agreed to work to the new schedule until the outcome of the legal action is known.

BA is also due to release traffic figures for October. Passenger numbers fell 1.7% in September compared with a year earlier, although there have been recent signs that the slump in demand has bottomed out.