I am sure most peeps will know this is my favourite airline - I fly them and I buy them.

Currently I hold a quarter unit as a longer term investment which is also useful for shareholder benefits.

I will be looking to substantially add at the right time and not afraid to trade them either intraday or more probably as a swing trade.


ains




Shadow of conflict looms large over British Airways as firm fights to recover

TRACEY BOLES - Scotland on Sunday

BRITISH Airways will warn that the prospect of war with Iraq casts a long shadow over its full-year this week when it posts third quarter figures in line with expectations.

Lord Marshall, the BA chairman, is expected to tell analysts that political uncertainty could push the airline, still struggling to recover from the effects of September 11, further into reverse.

"Iraq is a key driver for everything," said a source close to the airline.

BA has admitted privately to analysts that transatlantic bookings for this March are "appalling" as the uncertainty stirred up by the prospect of war exerts an influence. Earnings estimate downgrades are now highly likely.

However, analysts believe a loss for the full year is still not on the cards.

Pre-tax estimates for the full year currently stand at up to 140m. BAs performance, which represents a strong recovery from the 180m loss posted in the equivalent quarter after September 11, has been driven by a vigorous cost-cutting programme rather than by revenue, which is still flat.

It will announce tomorrow that it is on track to achieve cost savings of 450m by the end of March through a process of shedding jobs and loss-making routes under its future size and shape strategy.

By the end of next month 10,000 jobs will have gone under the programme. "BA has weathered the storm better than most by getting costs under control," said one analyst. "In Europe, only Iberia has done likewise."

Third quarter operating profits are expected to be around 30m to 40m, in line with analysts expectations, with pre-tax figures between a 10m loss and 5m profit. The consensus is break even.

The airline has impressed experts by taking the threat posed by low-cost carriers seriously.

Geopolitical and economic problems are affecting demand air travel, especially on long-haul routes. BAs premium services are still under pressure, recent traffic figures revealed.

A speedy Gulf war will lead to a relief rally for the airline sectors shares which are depressed at the moment. However, BA itself has warned that prolonged conflict could trigger a slump in aviation equivalent to that seen after September 11.

Chris Tarry, former aviation analyst at Commerzbank who now runs CTAIRA said: "I believe that the last quarter has been very tough on the revenue side and indeed they have indicated this themselves.

"Unfortunately the outlook is no better - even without a war. The reality of the economic situation in the UK was underlined with the rate cut.

"Add to that the structural downward shift in fare levels and then the uncertainty over war - it doesnt bode well.

"Furthermore, given the uncertainty caused by Iraq let alone an actual war, it is pretty clear that the transatlantic market will be dire in the summer."

BA has traditionally depended on transatlantic traffic for its revenue.

Shells chairman, Sir Philip Watts, also admitted last week that the oil giant was preparing for "uncertain times" ahead.

He said Shell had looked at the range of possibilities that could occur and had "a plan for every eventuality".

I dislike shorters, so I don`t really bother if they are burned,the hedge funds are responsible for much of the bear market we suffer today, lets hope more than their fingers ge a burning.

I never knew you could write Ains, let alone an autobiography, although you did leave 'half-assed' off...

Where have you been lately on 'your favourite airline' Ains?! :-))

BA says decision on Concorde fleet imminent
09/04/2003 12:39


LONDON (Reuters) - Europes biggest carrier British Airways says a decision on the fate of its supersonic Concorde fleet is imminent, amid reports the worlds fastest commercial planes could soon be pulled from service.

"We are looking at when the Concorde will be retiring. The process is at an advanced stage, but it is... very much watch this space," said a spokesman for BA.

Both BA and Air France, the only airlines that fly the sleek jet, have said they are considering retiring the dozen Concordes in service. BA charges about 4,500 pounds for a seat on a Concorde flight across the Atlantic.

The demise of the flashy 100-seater would spell the end of an era. The slender needle-nosed jet travels at twice the speed of sound and was hailed as the height of European technological innovation and business acumen when it entered service in 1976.

The Concorde, with its caviar and champagne-laden pre-boarding and in-flight services, was for decades a status symbol for the jet-set crew.

BA and Air France may decide they cannot afford to offer the Concordes luxury services as demand slows.

Air France declined to comment on whether it too was close to pulling the service, although it has said it is reviewing the jets future.

An Air France Concorde crashed outside of Paris in July 2000, killing 113 people. The crash forced the carriers to pull the jets for over a year and spend millions upgrading them.

The planes future became more uncertain as the war in Iraq jacked up fuel prices and as stumbling U.S. and European economies and the war cut demand for expensive business travel.

BA said on April 3 its revenue outlook was clouded because of the war, economic uncertainty, competition and a deadly flu-like virus, which has killed people in Asia and prompted travellers to cancel plane trips.


2003 Reuters

BATTERED AIRLINES




SINGAPORE AIRLINES
Cut: 60 weekly flights or 3.6 per cent of total capacity
Remarks: Destinations include Hongkong, Guangzhou, Hanoi, Taipei


CATHAY PACIFIC
Cut: 108 weekly flights, or 14 per cent of total capacity
Remarks: Includes 17 destinations in Asia, such as Manila, Taipei, Kuala Lumpur, Tokyo


MALAYSIAN AIRLINES
Cut: Two weekly flights to Hongkong in April and four flights, including two daily services, to Singapore from April 7 until end-May


GARUDA INDONESIA
Cut: Four-times-a-week service between Singapore and Medan. To suspend flights to Hongkong, Shanghai, Guangzhou
Remarks: Jakarta-Singapore route maintained


JAPAN AIRLINES
Cut: International flights by 8 per cent in April
Remarks: Include flights from Fukuoka to Hongkong, Osaka to Guangzhou, Tokyo and Osaka to Honolulu. Also, fewer flights from Tokyo to London and Guam


QANTAS
Cut: Up to 20 per cent of international flights, until mid-July


BRITISH AIRWAYS
Cut: 4 per cent of services through May, including 6 per cent cut on North Atlantic routes serving US and Canada. Flights to Kuwait suspended
Remarks: Daily flights to Hongkong down from two to one. Bangkok stop added for Hongkong flights, for staff layovers there instead of Hongkong


LUFTHANSA
Cut: Flights in Europe and to US, Japan, Middle East, Asia



KLM
Cut: 20 per cent of capacity on routes to Middle East and US and 5 per cent of European capacity
Remarks: Reviewing which Asian routes to cut


AIR FRANCE
Cut: All flights by 7 per cent because of Iraq war and Sars


AIR MAURITIUS
Cut: Twice-weekly service to Singapore and Malaysia from April 10
Remarks: Flights to Hongkong suspended, until May 31


NORTHWEST AIRLINES
Cut: 12 per cent of flights and 11 per cent of its workforce, or 4,900 jobs, because of lower demand


UNITED AIRLINES
Cut: Worldwide schedule by around 8 per cent

Remarks: Some workers put on temporary unpaid leave to cut costs


CONTINENTAL
Cut: Five weekly flights between Hongkong and New Jersey, April 12-June 2
Remarks: Sars brought 'dramatic reduction' in traffic


AMERICAN AIRLINES
Cut: International flights by 13 per cent and US capacity by 2 per cent in May

A FIRST-QUARTER profit warning from Germanys Lufthansa pulled British Airways lower in a weak session for European airlines.
The Frankfurt-listed carrier said late on Tuesday that it faced an unexpectedly deep operating loss for the first quarter because of a fall in passenger traffic and said it would introduce short-time working for cabin crew and staff. The airline blamed the war in Iraq and the spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars) for a poor performance during March.

Its European rivals retreated across the board, with British Airways, down 5p at 115p, echoing falls for Iberia and KLM. EasyJet shed 6p at 220p as Credit Suisse First Boston cut its price target from 400p to 297p and lowered its revenue forecasts after disappointing March data. The FTSE 250 closed 11.5 points behind at 4,123.5.

BA has confirmed they will retire the Concorde fleet in October - in meantime it continues to operate a reduced service - there will be a 84 million write-off for year just ended .....

sad but had to happen and a good business decision imho



ains

10 April 2003, Daily Mail

HE US has approved a route sharing deal between American Airlines and British Airways, bringing an open skies agreement with the UK closer.

115p to buy?, i`ll still wait for 108p and then pile in.


Shagger

Lets hope we get one or two good trades in and take advantage :-))

Shares have moved up on the day @ 117.5p

ains



British Airways says it is determined that Concorde goes out in style.

BA has announced special Concorde ticket deals.

The airline's chief executive Rod Eddington says the aircraft could be flown from airports other than Heathrow during its last days in service, so as many people as possible could see the plane.

"We must retire Concorde gracefully. We want the aircraft to go out on a high," said Mr Eddington.

From now, and for travel until the end of August, BA is offering a London to New York one-way ticket on Concorde and a subsonic return in economy class for 1,999.

One-way on Concorde and a subsonic return in business class (Club World) will be 2,999, while one-way on Concorde and a subsonic return in first class will be 3,499.

BA is also offering a Concorde flight and a Concorde return for 3,999.

Available until April 17, these offers are subject to travellers staying on a Saturday night, while tickets cannot be changed or refunded. One thousand seats are available.


Story filed: 09:59 Thursday 10th April 2003

Ahhhh, what a shame Ains, no doubt your 'prefered bird' Concorde has had its wings clipped! I bet you travel on economy on concorde too right Ains LOL!

love the new BA tv ads ..... just right .... shares out performed the market today and note booking for the last concorde flights going really really well



ains

FYI


BA and BAA should make Wi-Fi pay
12:51 Friday 11th April 2003
Tony Hallett, Silicon.com


The problems faced by the airline industry could be eased a little by increasing the amount of revenue generated by selling wireless access services
The week in which British Airways announced it's finally retiring the loss-making fleet of Concorde aircraft, airports and beleaguered airlines are looking at additional ways to make money -- and Wi-Fi access provision for travellers is a small but fast growing area for them.

BAA, one of the world's largest owners of airports around the world, has now announced a Wi-Fi hot spot at Heathrow Terminal 1 in London, an offering put together with the help of BT Openzone and Intel, which is currently pushing its Centrino bundle of wireless technology used inside laptops.



Customers eating at T1 departure lounge restaurants such as Est Est Est will see co-branded Wi-Fi signs featuring logos for the Wi-Fi Alliance, BT Openzone and Intel Centrino. Accounts can even be opened at a nearby 'duty free' branch of Dixons.

Intel believes it is adding a quality stamp in such cases -- in line with its attempts to validate hundreds of hot spots across the UK for use with Centrino. Some observers believe that the chips giant is trying to make its brand synonymous with Wi-Fi.

Rick Skett, UK managing director of Intel, told silicon.com: "Some [hot spots] frankly haven't been up to scratch, so we offer to work with them, to give them guidance."

But while hot spot operators such as BT Openzone and Megabeam, recently bought by Swisscom, are trying to reach as many high-value locations as possible, there has been some concern that location owners are dragging their feet.

While BAA now offers Wi-Fi access at several of its terminals, many business travellers point to lack of blanket coverage. BT Openzone or Megabeam will talk about the number of airports they are in -- well into double figures now -- but bristle when asked about the obvious locations they are not operating.

A spokesman for BAA said: "BAA has decided it will use different providers in different places because of the different travellers coming through." The thinking is that where the majority of travellers might be Britons going on holiday one brand will work best, while another might be better suited to a more international, business-oriented setting.

But as airport owners look to wireless networks as a new revenue stream or reason to make travellers use their terminals, airlines are continuing to take Wi-Fi to the sky. A new report from Frost & Sullivan (F&S) shows wireless will increasingly become part of in-flight entertainment (IFE) offerings.

The analyst house says equipment providers will first have to get their wares included in Airbus' and Boeing's parts catalogues but thereafter there are advantages in airlines using wireless equipment for data communications and distributing films and other entertainment in-flight, mainly because the technology means less weight and so less fuel is used.

However, F&S principal analyst Jerry Weltsch warns: "If economies of scale are not achieved, as happened with in-flight voice communications, in-flight data communications will have limited long-term potential."



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lots of coverage today and all week on the mothballing of the Concorde .... it's all good PR and the value may well offset the costs incurred :-))


this is not un typical


Nostalgia Abounds as the Concorde's End Is Set
By ALAN COWELL NY Times


ONDON, April 10 After 27 years of supersonic travel lofting rock stars, executives and the rest of the Champagne set across the Atlantic, British Airways and Air France said today that they would retire their fleets of Concordes this year.

The announcement brings the end of an era when the delta-winged jet stood for the ascendancy of technology and economic hope. Today, hard-nosed executives vied for the lyrical edge in mourning its demise.

"Concorde changed the way people traveled," said Rod Eddington, British Airways' chief executive. "With its going, we must lose some of the romance from aviation."

Advertisement






Air France's chairman, Jean-Cyril Spinetta, said: "Never has such a beautiful object been designed and built by man. This aircraft is not going to stop, because it continues to live on in the human imagination."

Richard Branson, chairman of Virgin Atlantic Airways, who has a history of tweaking British Airways, raised the possibility today that Virgin would take over its rival's castoffs. Since the announcement, "we have been flooded with calls from the public, including B.A. staff, asking us to see if we can keep Concorde flying," he said. "This might come to nothing, but I believe that every effort should be made to keep Concorde flying, as it is such an important symbol of British innovation."

If that unlikely effort fails, though, the Concorde is dead.

The airlines ascribed their decision to falling passenger demand and steadily increasing costs of maintaining the fleet. But in recent years, Concorde's status has been battered, first by safety fears after a crash outside Paris in 2000 that killed 113 people and then by the broader slowdown in air travel since the Sept. 11 attacks.

Successive years of war in Afghanistan and Iraq, moreover, have further dented the mood of business confidence that once made Concorde an emblem of worldly success.

Airlines across Europe and the United States have been reporting steady declines in passenger numbers, especially on long-haul flights to and from America. In recent months, Air France's Concordes have regularly flown with 80 of the 100 seats empty, the airline said.

Sara John, a spokeswoman for British Airways, said the withdrawal of Concorde would be "permanent as of October this year" but did not say when the last flight would take off. British Airways said it would sell 1,000 discounted tickets costing up to $6,200 for round-trip Concorde flights until the end of August less than half of the top price of $13,500 that a round-trip ticket normally costs. Air France set May 31 as the date for its last scheduled Concorde flight.

With global economies slowing and stock markets falling, Concorde has come to stand as an emblem of high-rolling luxury at a time when many people are experiencing layoffs and declining fortunes. That, too, has inhibited the high-rolling business set.

"If you're laying people off and telling people in your business to tighten your belt, senior executives then find it inconsistent to go to the airport and get on Concorde rather than subsonic aircraft," Mr. Eddington of British Airways said.

But many who flew on it were nostalgic, recalling its particular blend of spartan seating, delicate canap, noisy take-offs and ineffable speed.

"It was the best travel experience anyone could ever have," said Tyler Br founder of Wallpaper, a style magazine. "It gave you the ultimate luxury, which is time."

"It's not the most comfortable flight," he said, "but it was the most incredible feeling. You felt as though you were hurtling through the air in a missile."

British Airways and Air France insisted that the retirement of the planes was not related to the crash on July 25, 2000, when an Air France Concorde burst into flames on take-off and crashed close to Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris. After the disaster, the plane was grounded in Britain and France while safety modifications were made. Supersonic flights were reintroduced in November 2001.

"We have complete safety at Concorde, complete confidence in its ability to fly safely," Mr. Eddington said. "This is the end of a fantastic era in world aviation, but bringing forward Concorde's retirement is a prudent business decision at a time when we are having to make difficult decisions right across the airline."

Air France said: "This decision is motivated by deteriorating economic results observed over the past months and which accelerated since the beginning of the year."

Concorde has been flying in commercial service since January 1976. Its first test flight took place in 1969.

How long before the a takeover of BA? A matter of time and my guess is sooner rather than later. I for one would love to get my hands on this business. The blundering antics of public school boy management are now so well documented that even their own peers must be cringing.

We need some ability and vision at the helm. I think the stock can only head south. Once you remove SARS and IRAQ the excuses will be much harder to find.

P.S. The squelching works wonders!!

I see that BA has ruled out selling its 300m stake in Australian airline Qantas as chief executive Rod Eddington is believed to view it as a core asset.

tpaulbeaumont - 11 Apr'03 - 09:31 - 108 of 108 edit






ainsoph - 09 Apr'03 - 21:24 - 107 of 107




ainsoph - 13 Mar'03 - 15:18 - 34 of 106 edit


Ok, I admit it I'm a lying tit who has been allowed a PC in my cell so I thought I'd try a nd lose you 'freebies' some of your hard earned dough, cos I'm a shit

Ainsoph, have you ever even been out of Dorset?

LOL

Guys,

can we all move away from the personal stuff please?

Ian