2nd UPDATE: BA Sep Traffic Down, Premium Traffic Falls Again
05 Octubre 2009 - 11:26AM
Noticias Dow Jones
U.K airline British Airways PLC (BAY.LN) Monday said September
traffic failed to pick up despite more favorable annual
comparisons, and its important premium traffic continued to
weaken.
Traffic, measured in revenue passenger kilometers, or RPKs, fell
by 0.8% from a year earlier to 9.83 billion RPKs, with total
passenger numbers down 1.7% to 2.9 million. Premium RPK traffic
dropped 7.9% on the year, the second time BA has posted a decline
for September since 2004, with non-premium traffic up by 0.7%, BA
said.
September is usually a strong month for premium traffic as
business passengers return from summer vacations, but declines in
premium traffic should ease going forward as comparisons become
more favorable.
The "less dramatic declines in more important premium traffic is
a positive sign and a step in the right direction," said John
Strickland, Director at JLS Consulting Ltd.
He said BA needs to focus on reducing those declines further,
with autumn to early winter typically being important periods for
those traveling premium class.
A 3.7% cut in capacity, measured in available seat kilometres,
helped boost passenger load factor by 2.4 percentage points to
81.3%. Load factor measures the proportion of available seats an
airline fills with paying passengers.
BA's group treasurer and head of investor relations, George
Stinnes said the airline is still discussing governance structures
relating to a potential merger with Iberia Lineas Aereas de Espana
SA (IBLA.MC) but added it must deliver synergies for a merger to be
viable.
He said the airline hasn't placed a deadline for concluding
talks with the Spanish carrier.
Earlier Monday a BA spokesman said the airline will respond to
concerns raised by the European Commission over its transatlantic
tie-up plans by the end of October.
The European Commission Friday confirmed it had sent its
Statement of Objections to BA, AMR Corp's (AMR) American Airlines
and Iberia over their plans for deeper cooperation on transatlantic
routes. The commission is concerned the airlines' bid to increase
cooperation could restrict competition and raise fares for
consumers but BA and Iberia Friday said are keen to address and
overcome any issues raised by the commission.
Anti-trust immunity would allow the carriers to work more
closely on schedules and prices, while also sharing revenue.
Stinnes said he could see no reason for why BA should need to
grant any concession so it could work more closely with other
airlines within the oneworld alliance. "Sometimes logic, intellect
or otherwise" doesn't mirror reality.
The oneworld alliance is a group of 10 airlines working together
on global routes.
Meanwhile, budget carrier Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) posted a 17%
increase in the number of passengers it carried in September to 6.1
million from 5.2 million a year earlier, while load factor rose one
percentage point to 85%.
KEY EUROPEAN AIRLINE SEP TRAFFIC:
AIRLINE RPKs Chg On Yr PASSENGER NOS Chg
British Airways 9.83 Bln -0.8% 2.9M -1.7%
Ryanair n/av n/av 6.1M 17%
EasyJet Due Oct
Air Berlin Due Oct
SAS Due Oct
Lufthansa Due Oct
Iberia Due Oct
Aer Lingus Due Oct
Air France-KLM Due Oct
-By Kaveri Niththyananthan, Dow Jones Newswires; 4420 7842 9299;
kaveri.niththyananthan@dowjones.com