L'aumento del carburante mette in difficolta anche il colosso British Airways che prevede a partire dalla prossima stagione invernale una riduzione del 5% dell'offerta ed un contemporaneo incremento tariffario del 4%.
British Airways non è l'unico vettore che si sta adoperando per arginare l'effetto "caro carburante" che per la prossima stagione invernale rischia di minare la salute operativa di molte compagnie aeree a livello globale.
Airlines: Winter flights put on ice as BA feels the chill
British Airways will cut capacity by up to 5% over the winter and impose a partial hiring freeze after admitting it will be a "considerable achievement" to avoid plunging into a loss this year.
BA will reduce the amount of flights on its routes and axe some services between October and March as it shores up its cost base in the face of an oil price of more than $140 (£69.82) a barrel.
Willie Walsh, chief executive, said the waning global economy was also affecting demand for air travel, creating a double-whammy that has caused the collapse of at least 25 airlines this year. "I have no doubt the prices people are paying for energy are beginning to hit, and people are seeing higher prices for food. Generally, the economic environment is softer than it was six months ago," he said.
Martin Broughton, BA's chairman, said at the airline's annual meeting that it "will be a considerable achievement for British Airways to break even this year".
BA will announce its slimmed-down timetable alongside first-quarter figures next month. Walsh said there would be fewer services on the least cash-generative routes. However, no more than two out of 154 routes would be axed, said Walsh.
Airlines are cutting capacity heavily due to falling demand and high fuel prices, with US carriers leading the way. Ryanair, Europe's largest low-cost airline, announced yesterday that it was grounding four aircraft and cutting more than 150 flights a week at its Dublin base. As a result, 500,000 fewer passengers will travel through Dublin on Ryanair flights.
Douglas McNeill, an analyst at Blue Oar Securities, said: "This is really another example of how the oil shock is reshaping the aviation industry in ways that would have been inconceivable only a few months ago."
Speaking to reporters after the annual meeting, Walsh said there were no plans to cut jobs from BA's 42,300-strong workforce, allaying trade union fears that a recent cost review would trigger a cull.
However, BA is expected to save on payroll costs by not replacing departing workers. Walsh said plans to recruit more cabin crew over the winter would be put on hold due to the capacity reduction. "Given that expansion will not take place, we don't need to recruit people for the winter period," he said.
Walsh warned it was "absolutely inevitable" that fares will go up. The airline has predicted fares will rise by 4% at least, adding a minimum of £130 to a premium-class London-New York return flight.
There are signs that high fuel surcharges and a slowing economy are hitting travel, with the decline in BA traffic accelerating to 3.7% in June as the airline carried 87,000 fewer passengers.
BA reckons it will be less affected by high fares than would low-cost airlines, because about 50% of its customers are business people who are less sensitive to price increases. Still, Walsh admitted, fare rises "will have an impact on demand".
BA reported record pre-tax profits of £883m in the year to March, but every $1 rise in the oil price knocks £16m off its profits, and it slips into a loss, along with the vast majority of airlines, if crude stays above $125 a barrel.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008/jul/16/britishairwaysbusiness.theairlineindustry
British Airways non è l'unico vettore che si sta adoperando per arginare l'effetto "caro carburante" che per la prossima stagione invernale rischia di minare la salute operativa di molte compagnie aeree a livello globale.
Airlines: Winter flights put on ice as BA feels the chill
British Airways will cut capacity by up to 5% over the winter and impose a partial hiring freeze after admitting it will be a "considerable achievement" to avoid plunging into a loss this year.
BA will reduce the amount of flights on its routes and axe some services between October and March as it shores up its cost base in the face of an oil price of more than $140 (£69.82) a barrel.
Willie Walsh, chief executive, said the waning global economy was also affecting demand for air travel, creating a double-whammy that has caused the collapse of at least 25 airlines this year. "I have no doubt the prices people are paying for energy are beginning to hit, and people are seeing higher prices for food. Generally, the economic environment is softer than it was six months ago," he said.
Martin Broughton, BA's chairman, said at the airline's annual meeting that it "will be a considerable achievement for British Airways to break even this year".
BA will announce its slimmed-down timetable alongside first-quarter figures next month. Walsh said there would be fewer services on the least cash-generative routes. However, no more than two out of 154 routes would be axed, said Walsh.
Airlines are cutting capacity heavily due to falling demand and high fuel prices, with US carriers leading the way. Ryanair, Europe's largest low-cost airline, announced yesterday that it was grounding four aircraft and cutting more than 150 flights a week at its Dublin base. As a result, 500,000 fewer passengers will travel through Dublin on Ryanair flights.
Douglas McNeill, an analyst at Blue Oar Securities, said: "This is really another example of how the oil shock is reshaping the aviation industry in ways that would have been inconceivable only a few months ago."
Speaking to reporters after the annual meeting, Walsh said there were no plans to cut jobs from BA's 42,300-strong workforce, allaying trade union fears that a recent cost review would trigger a cull.
However, BA is expected to save on payroll costs by not replacing departing workers. Walsh said plans to recruit more cabin crew over the winter would be put on hold due to the capacity reduction. "Given that expansion will not take place, we don't need to recruit people for the winter period," he said.
Walsh warned it was "absolutely inevitable" that fares will go up. The airline has predicted fares will rise by 4% at least, adding a minimum of £130 to a premium-class London-New York return flight.
There are signs that high fuel surcharges and a slowing economy are hitting travel, with the decline in BA traffic accelerating to 3.7% in June as the airline carried 87,000 fewer passengers.
BA reckons it will be less affected by high fares than would low-cost airlines, because about 50% of its customers are business people who are less sensitive to price increases. Still, Walsh admitted, fare rises "will have an impact on demand".
BA reported record pre-tax profits of £883m in the year to March, but every $1 rise in the oil price knocks £16m off its profits, and it slips into a loss, along with the vast majority of airlines, if crude stays above $125 a barrel.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008/jul/16/britishairwaysbusiness.theairlineindustry
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