Anyone know why BAY is rising so strongly in spite of all the bad news regarding delayed flights, etc.?
All comments appreciated

British Airways starting to slip as it made itself to be unpopular by charging extortonist rates on luggages and pension unrest among its employees is also a sticky issue. Message is SELL. Now 495p.

British Airways has totally lost its reputation, wanting to charge for luggages and being absolutely irresponsible for losing passengers' luggages.
SELL BA


BA worst airline for losing bags in Europe
By David Millward, Transport Correspondent
From the Daily Telegraph - 04/04/2007


British Airways was named and shamed yesterday as the carrier which lost more bags than any of its European rivals.

BA admitted that its performance had not been acceptable, but said the problems were due to curbs imposed on carry-on luggage. As millions of passengers prepare to leave Britain for one of the busiest holiday weekends of the year, BA's record was highlighted in a survey by the Association of European Airlines.

It showed that BA mislaid 23 bags per 1,000 passengers last year, two more than the carrier in second place, TAP Air Portugal and nearly five more than Lufthansa.

A BA spokesman admitted that its performance had not been acceptable, but said the problems had been triggered by a 25 per cent rise in the number of bags being checked into the hold after curbs were imposed on the amount of luggage passengers could take on board in August.

Its difficulties were exacerbated by the fog which engulfed Heathrow in the days leading up to Christmas.

According to the Air Transport Users Council, the consumer watchdog, 5.6 million bags were "mishandled" last year by 24 European carriers. The list does not include a number of no-frills airlines such as easyJet and Ryanair.

While 85 per cent of "mishandled" bags are normally reunited with their owners within 48 hours, more than a million take more than two days to be returned and some are never found.

"When we hand our suitcases over to the airline at check-in we should be able to expect that they will arrive with us at our destination airport," a spokesman for the council said.

"If they do not, airlines are usually able to track them down and get them back to us eventually. But the process of getting reasonable redress from an airline is not as straightforward as many people expect."

Passengers' rights to compensation are limited to 800 by the Montreal Convention. But this money is only paid once it is accepted that a bag has been lost.

Passengers are not entitled to any recompense for out-of-pocket expenses they can incur while a bag is missing.

The figures will be a worrying backdrop for passengers preparing to leave Britain.

BAA, which owns the country's seven largest airports, expects to handle 2.5 million people over the Easter weekend. Heathrow will be especially busy with 1.1 million passengers passing through, while Gatwick will cope with 600,000.

Manchester Airport expects to have 600,000 passengers over the next 10 days and it warned them that they could face long security delays if they fail to keep up with the latest restrictions.

Like a number of other airports Manchester has taken on extra staff to minimize the prospect of long queues.

"We want all our passengers to have a hassle-free start to their Easter holiday", said Manchester Airport's Director of Customer Services and Security Mike Fazackerley.

"Passengers who have checked the hand luggage restrictions arrive at the terminal well prepared and have a far smoother experience as they go through security."

Great from an investors point of view .


From low of 97 pence currently 508. NOT bad!!!

BA sees profits down after labour disruptions, transatlantic decline - AFX


LONDON (Thomson Financial) - British Airways PLC today reported a 13.3 pct decline in annual operating profit after a labour dispute disrupted flights and transatlantic traffic declined.

BA cancelled some 1,200 flights earlier this year when cabin crews threatened to strike over pay and sick leave. A settlement was reached in January and the proposed walkout was called off.

However, the carrier saw a 15 pct drop in passenger traffic in January and February.

'In total we took a hit of 220 mln stg as a result of labour and security issues, plus we also had an 11 mln stg hit by the chancellor's increase in Air Passenger Duty,' the airline's chief executive Willie Walsh told reporters on a conference call this morning. 'So it was a total of 231 mln stg as a result of all the issues we faced during the year.'

The airline also said it was making a 350 mln stg provision for possible penalties from a probe into price fixing. BA is currently being investigated by the UK and the USA for alleged cartel activity.

The carrier said there had been breaches of its competition compliance policy in relation to discussions about long haul passenger and cargo fuel surcharges with competitors.

As a result, the airline said it felt it was appropriate for the company to make a provision, under IAS 37, of 350 mln stg in its full-year accounts. It said the provision represents the best estimate of the amount to settle all competition authority and civil claims at the balance sheet date, but added that it recognises the final amount is 'subject to uncertainty'.

The airline's full-year operating profit fell to 602 mln stg from 694 mln stg in 2006 and its pretax profit came in at 611 mln stg -- 5 mln stg down on the figure of 616 mln stg it posted this time last year.

The carrier's revenues increased by 3.4 pct to 8.492 bln, up from 8.213 bln stg last time.

BA's earnings per share fell to 25.5 pence from 40.4 pence last time. The company has recommended no final dividend for the year.

The airline said its annual traffic volumes were up 2.9 pct year-on-year, with the yield up 2.1 pct and capacity up 2.9 pct. The carrier's no-fuel costs, meanwhile, jumped by 1.1 pct.

BA said its costs, excluding fuel, had increased by 50 mln stg compared to last year.

The airline said that it had addressed the 2.1 bln stg pension deficit and added that its results include a 396 mln stg credit as a result of a change to the New Airways Pension Scheme (NAPS).

BA also said it would continue to look at its options in terms of selling its stake in Spanish national carrier Iberia.

Walsh said BA would not make a stand-alone bid for Iberia but said it was in discussions with potential private equity partners regarding a possible future bid.

'What we have ruled out is making an independent bid for Iberia and we've also ruled out any additional equity as part of a consortium if we agree to one,' Walsh told reporters in a conference call.

'We continue to have discussions with potential partners and we have not ruled out the sale of our stake in Iberia.'

BA currently owns 10 pct of Iberia. Texas Pacific Group (TPG), the private equity group, has already made a 4.6 bln usd offer for the Spanish carrier.

BA has reportedly pushed TPG to join forces with rival private equity bidder Apax Partners. The British carrier is understood to have met with TPG and Apax to discuss its potential involvement in their respective bids.

Walsh also dismissed talk -- fuelled by a Goldman Sachs note issued yesterday -- that the company was a likely takeover target by M&A predators. 'In relation to interest in BA all I can say is that we will continue to run the business, do what's right to address the fundamentals as we've been doing,' Walsh told reporters. 'We're pleased with the progress that we've made and we're not going to be in any way driven off track by speculation.'

The company also highlighted weaknesses in the non-premium segments on North Atlantic routes.

In terms of cargo, volumes for the year were down 4.7 pct compared with the prior year, with yields up 1.7 pct, the airline said. BA said cargo performance during the second half was impacted by operational and security-related issues.

Looking ahead, Walsh said he expects the airline's fuel bill to be 'about 100 mln stg higher in 2007-08', with non-fuel costs set to rise by up to 50 mln stg.

The carrier's revenue forecast remains unchanged at between 5 pct and 6 pct, however, but Walsh said he expects 'to be at the lower end of this'.

Analysts at UBS reiterated their 'buy' stance and maintained the target price at 650 pence.

Richard Hunter, head of UK equities at Hargreaves Lansdown stockbrokers said market views on the company were 'totally diverse' but added that 'on balance, BA has been given the benefit of the doubt and remains a comfortable hold in consensus terms'.

Shares in BA were lower in morning trade and at 9.15 am the stock was down 4.5 pct pct at 479 pence.

r.jones@thomson.com

rj/bsd/rj/bsd/rj/bsd/rj/bsd

From The Times June 23, 2006

British Airways faces 850m fine over price-fixing claim

Investigations are under way into airlines on both sides of the Atlantic over fuel surcharges By Ben Webster


BRITISH Airways is facing fines of up to 850 million and a criminal investigation into the activities of senior executives after allegations of price-fixing on flights.
Competition authorities in Britain and the US have launched investigations into a series of fuel surcharges imposed by BA, Virgin Atlantic, American Airlines and United Airlines.

BA appears to be the focus of the investigation. It announced yesterday that it had given leave of absence to its commercial director, Martin George, and its head of communications, Iain Burns.

The Office of Fair Trading raided BAs headquarters near Heathrow on June 13.

BA has been widely criticised for raising its surcharge on longhaul return flights six times in the past two years. The surcharge was last raised to 70 in April, shortly before the airline announced that annual profits had risen 21 per cent to 620 million.

BA has certainly lost its touch with its passengers (losing baggages and imposing luggage restrictions and poor services) and its employee (strike and pension downfall)...now 448p and further downtrend...SELL


BA May passenger traffic down 2.1 pct, load factor down 1.5 pct points UPDATE - AFX
(recasts with detail from statement)

LONDON (Thomson Financial) - British Airways PLC blamed a particularly strong May in 2006 and the timing of bank holidays this year for a 2.1 pct decline in passenger traffic last month.

BA said May 2006 was a particularly strong month with premium traffic up 13.9 pct and non-premium up 5.7 pct, leading to soft year-on-year performance.

The flag carrier warned that premium growth in the first half of the year is unlikely due to high comparative seat factors.

It also said continuing carry-on baggage restrictions at Heathrow and the weak US dollar were responsible for the fall in traffic measured in revenue passenger kilometres, to 9.3 bln from 9.5 bln last year.

BA said the fall in revenue passenger kilometres resulted in a decline in the passenger load factor - a measure of how full its planes were - of 1.5 percentage points versus last year, to 73.3 pct.

The decrease in traffic comprised a 2.1 pct fall in premium traffic and a 2.1 pct drop in non-premium traffic.

BA said some weakness in the non-premium market, particularly on North Atlantic and short haul domestic routes, continues.

'Premium demand is expected to continue driving high seat factors,' BA added in a statement. 'Visibility around forward bookings continues to be limited.'

Traffic measured in numbers of passengers carried in May dropped by 1.3 pct to 2.83 mln from 2.87 mln. Since the start of the financial year in April, it fell 0.8 pct to 5.65 mln from 5.69 mln beforehand. Cargo measured in tonne kilometres fell 2 pct to 402 mln.

philip.waller@thomson.com

hyle I have a lot of these shares I have bought at 5.07 the dearest and the cheapest ones at 4.70 etc. I feel the drop has been well over done. take also into consideration the takeover aspect. I must work out the average price on my shares. I am going to hang on to mine. good luck to all holding.

Janethennison,If i may add my two penneth in,i agrre ,you should hold on to these,the price is depressed because of the investigation and some concern should BA buy IB,650pence in twelve months.Good luck.

In my opinion, BA has no credibility.

bay are one of the largest airlines in the world and they are not going to disapear.

Of course it is not going to disappear but it will not be doing well. Profit warnings may appear when passenger volume goes down.

Ba is historically making more money per pound than ever,let it get its current issues behind it and you will see the sp recover,i also still believe it remains a takeover target,do nnot be suprised if lufthansa do to B.A,what B.A.wanted to do with KLM.

B.A,will not let open skies pass it without it grabbing new oportunities,T5 will give BA huge cost savings,SP is oversold even though it may fall further i really do think it will be in the 600p range in the next 12 months.

BA is going Kamikaze now...SELL as price war has been announced by Ryanair and BA is certainly not able to compete with its fares...passenger numbers will be much lower this summer.

EasyJet May passenger numbers up 13.8 pct, sees FY pretax profit up 40-50 pct AFX

LONDON (Thomson Financial) - Low-cost airline easyJet PLC said it carried 13.8 pct more passengers in May than the same month last year adding that it remains on track to grow pretax profits this year by between 40 pct to 50 pct.

The Luton-based budget carrier said 3,345,465 people travelled on its services in May against 2,939,361 the year before.

However, easyJet said its load factor - how full its aircraft were - declined by 0.3 pct points to 83.6 pct.

And the airline expects total revenue per seat to fall by 5 pct to 10 pct in the second half. However it also anticipates a 5% cut unit costs, excluding fuel, over the same period.

In the 12 months to May, the group's passenger numbers climbed 11.1 pct to 35,237,323 and the load factor fell 0.2 pct points to 84.0 pct.

TFN.newsdesk@thomson.com

janetbennison,go to reuters,statment from mr walsh in Milan recently.HOLD

capetown the write up at reuters sounds very good, and hopefully the share price drop has now been well overdone. thankyou for pointing this statement out to me. Good luck from janet.

From The Sunday TimesMay 27, 2007

BA chiefs face extradition over price fixingDavid Leppard
AMERICAN government prosecutors are preparing for the extradition of four current or former British Airways executives accused of involvement in a price-fixing scandal.

Lawyers from the US Department of Justice have notified the mens lawyers that they will want to talk to them. The BA Four could face more than 20 years in jail if they are extradited and convicted in a US court.

A team from the department has visited Britain and other European countries to gather evidence for a possible prosecution. It has established a federal grand jury to consider whether charges should be brought.

The case is also being investigated by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) in Britain.

In 2004 and 2005, both BA and Virgin imposed a series of almost identical fuel surcharges on London-New York flights. The price rises, which cumulatively added 70 to the price of a ticket, were in some cases announced by both airlines within days of each other.

At the time, BA said it was simply reacting to rises in the price of aircraft fuel. However, American investigators have obtained telephone records that allegedly show two BA executives talking to two Virgin executives at key moments in the run-up to the price rises.

This month BA admitted that it had breached competition laws. Willie Walsh, its chief executive, said nine days ago that the airline had set aside 350m to cover any legal case.

It had previously been thought that only two BA executives were involved in the inquiry. Martin George, BAs commercial director, and Iain Burns, its head of communications, were both given leave of absence when BA revealed the existence of the inquiry last June. They resigned last autumn.

It has now emerged that two other BA executives, who still work at the airline, are being investigated. American legal sources said one was a senior executive in the marketing department, the other a rising star on the commercial side.

The case of the BA Four is threatening to revive concerns about an extradition treaty that ministers signed with America in 2003. It has been criticised as one-sided because it allows America to obtain the extradition of British citizens without prima facie evidence. Far tougher rules apply if Britain seeks to extradite American citizens.

The alleged price-rigging emerged when Virgin decided to notify the OFT early last year. Under the 2002 Enterprise Act, a company that tips off the authorities about an alleged offence and provides evidence to support a prosecution can be granted immunity from prosecution.

The act allows for fines of up to 10% of a companys turnover. Individuals found guilty of price-fixing face up to five years in jail. The maximum sentence for price-rigging in America is life imprisonment.

JANET,HOPE U HELD ONTO YOUR SHARES,SEE THAT THEY HAVE BEEN UPGRADED TO INVESTMENT STATUS AFTER FOUR YEARS OF WAITING,DIVIDENDS COMING SOON I THINK.

I have still got my british airways shares, I am still sitting on a massive loss with them. Lets hope that now they have been upgraded that they will shoot back up to five pounds a share again. What do you think the chances of that happening are? and the very best of luck to all holding. take care all from janet.