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".

ainsoph - 09 Feb'03 - 12:44


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

The dirty tricks have started then!!!!!!!!!!,
would you really like to put your bum on a seat after KDC,

UUUUGGHHH!!!!!

Out-performing the market today @ 124p


29 Apr 2003 11:57 BST

Airlines say SARS impact now bigger than war

LONDON (Reuters) - Europe's biggest airlines are now being hit harder by the deadly SARS virus in Asia than on war-hit Middle Eastern routes, weekly traffic data has shown.
Airlines around the world have cancelled flights near Iraq in the past six weeks, but cuts are now mounting on Asian routes while some service to the Middle East resumes.

Demand for seats to the Far East and Australasia plunged 28 percent from year-ago levels in the week ending April 20, the Brussels-based Association of European Airlines said in a statement.

That was more than the 24-percent fall on routes to the Middle East, underscoring the rising impact on airlines from Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), which has been blamed for 331 deaths, more than a third of them in China.

In March, Middle East routes were down 34 percent versus just seven percent for Asian routes.

SARS has sparked World Health Organisation travel warnings on Toronto, Hong Kong and other parts of China, hitting carriers well beyond the affected regions as airlines in the United States and Europe also count on business and tourist traveller revenues from Asian routes and flights to Canada's financial capital.

Four of 10 seats are flying empty for European carriers serving Asia, the AEA said.

March traffic for Europe's largest carriers fell 4.5 percent, hit by war in Iraq and SARS, but the fall was cushioned as year-ago traffic was also weak.

"Hostilities began on the 20th of the month, although the market had been weakening before that date, in evident anticipation of the conflict," it said.

The 30-member AEA represents about 90 percent of scheduled flights in Europe. It includes top carriers British Airways BAY.L and Air France AIRF.PA but not low-fare airlines Ryanair RYA.I or easyJet EZJ.L .

flown with BAY a couple of times in the past few months. ok but no more. it's all about price and maintaining slots/good reliability for their short haul/euro business now. i dont think the brand's worth much

would you really like to put your bum on a seat after KDC,

irritating little peeps


Branson denied Concorde information
By Michael Harrison, Business Editor Indy
30 April 2003


British Airways rejected renewed demands from Sir Richard Branson yesterday for access to financial information about Concorde so he could decide whether to keep the supersonic aircraft in service when BA retires its fleet this October.

BA also denied a claim by the Virgin Atlantic chairman that it had offered to sell one of its seven Concordes to a well-known British composer for a "nominal fee" provided it was not used in competition.

Sir Richard, who has offered to buy Concorde from BA for the 1 it paid for the fleet, wrote yesterday to the BA chairman Lord Marshall of Knightsbridge saying he found the airline's attitude "totally baffling" and asking for a copy of the latest audited financial statement it had provided to the Government.

"If BA wants to stop flying Concorde, that's its commercial decision. I have no problem with that," he said. "But in the circumstances, why should that stop someone else from having a go at keeping this beautiful aircraft in the air? With Virgin Atlantic's lower costs and marketing flair there must be a good chance we could make a go of it, even if BA can't."

Lord Marshall responded by saying that an in-depth review of Concorde, carried out with its manufacturer, Airbus, had concluded there was "no realistic prospect" of continuing services beyond this October "whether by us or any other operator". He also maintained that BA had paid the manufacturers 155m for Concorde and had invested a further 1bn in the service since 1976.

Lord Marshall added that the 1980 agreement whereby it provided the Government with an annual audited statement of Concorde's operations had ended in 1984 with the payment of 16.5m for the remaining spares inve

May 02, 2003

CitiExpress faces more cost-cutting
By Russell Hotten TIMES



BRITISH Airways will today announce another round of cost-cutting at CitiExpress, its regional subsidiary, where pilots had threatened to strike.
CitiExpress, which has already gone through a restructuring, wants to save another 20 million, including 7 million this year.

David Evans, the managing director of CitiExpress, described the cost savings as critical to the airlines future. In a statement to staff he said that doing nothing is not an option. He said: The future of our regional operations is in our own hands, and we have to reduce our cost base immediately to avoid incurring losses.

CitiExpress, formed from the merger of short-haul airlines, was restructured in an overhaul of BAs operations after a big fall in business. BA has brought forward by six months a plan to save 450 million by next March.

About 21 routes have already been cut, along with bases at Cardiff and Leeds-Bradford airports. However, CitiExpress has begun services from Londons City Airport.

i booked flights with Virgin upper class to SF on line and received around 500
discount each person from the regular price, I have to admit that BAY first class is superior but so is the price ,big time.
BAY are going to have to rethink their charges PDQ if they are going back as a world beater.

Friday May 2, 04:21 PM






U.S. stocks jump 1 percent; airline shares fly
(Updates with extended gains)

NEW YORK, May 2 (Reuters) - Stocks jumped more than 1 percent on Friday as investors bet the U.S. economy will gather steam later in the year and a bullish investment call sent airline shares like AMR Corp (NYSE: AMR - news) . soaring.

"People are saying in the next six months the market has got to pick up," said Todd Leone, head of listed trading at S.G. Cowen. "The war is over, and there is no bad news on the horizon."

The blue-chip Dow Jones industrial average climbed 92 points, or 1.09 percent, to 8,546. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 Index advanced 9 points, or 1.08 percent, to 926. The technology-laced Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 22 points, or 1.53 percent, to 1,495.

The U.S. economy shed jobs for the third straight month in April and the unemployment rate hit a 4-month high at 6 percent, according to a report before the open. But separate data showed orders for U.S. manufactured goods rose by a larger-than-expected 2.2 percent in March, their best showing since July 2002.

Airline stocks rallied after Merrill Lynch (NYSE: MER - news) said the worst may be over for the industry. AMR surged 89 cents, or 18.5 percent, to $5.70. Northwest Airlines Corp (NASDAQ: NWAC - news) . leaped $1.70, or 19.7 percent, to $10.25. Continental Airlines Inc (NYSE: CAL - news) . jumped $2.14, or 21.7 percent, to $12. Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL - news) Inc. rallied $1.86, or 14.3 percent, to $14.86.

note the comments on traditional airlines






Warning sends EasyJet into a dive

Neil Hume
Saturday May 3, 2003
The Guardian

EasyJet shares dived to their lowest level since its flotation in November 2000 yesterday, as another leading broker turned negative on the no-frills

airline and gave warning that next week's interim figures will disappoint.
The pre-results jitters first started to undermine EasyJet's share price late last week after UBS Warburg, one of the company's two brokers, slashed its earnings forecast by a staggering 37%. It cited concerns that EasyJet has been forced to keep on cutting fares because of stiff competition from second-tier traditional and charter carriers, many of which had been expected to go bust.

Since then the shares, which came to the market at 310p, have continued to lose altitude despite a vague bid story doing the rounds on Thursday. Yesterday, they lost a further 11.5p to 173.5p - the biggest fall in the FTSE 250 - after US investment bank Morgan Stanley downgraded its rating to "equalweight" from "overweight" and advised clients to switch into rival Ryanair, up 2.5p to 422.5p. "We have come to the conclusion that EasyJet's business case has weakened to such a degree that it makes it impossible for us to maintain a positive view on the shares," it said. "The surprising endurance of the traditional carriers puts the longer term market opportunities for low cost carriers with focus on hubs in doubt," Morgan Stanley continued.

With prices on these routes likely to remain competitive - yesterday Swiss launched a new regional airline called Swiss Express - Morgan Stanley suspects that profit forecasts for EasyJet will be scaled back when the results are released on Wednesday.

Elsewhere in the sector, things were rather brighter. British Airways climbed 10.5p to 135p after Merrill Lynch said the worst was over for the airline industry and Citigroup Smith Barney upgrading its rating to "outperform". Citigroup reckons BA is the best play on a return to normal political and economic conditions.

In the wider market, leading shares recouped all of Thursday's losses and 30 points more for good measure. As usual London was lifted by a strong showing in New York, where indices stormed higher on the back of an employment report that, although weak, was better than most investors had expected.

The final scores showed the FTSE 100 ahead 72.5 points at 3,952.6, taking its gains over the week to 82.4 points. Glaxo-SmithKline , up 57p to 13.32, BT , 7.5p higher at 182.5p, and Reuters , 8.5p better at 138.5p, spearheaded the advance.

Elsewhere, the FTSE 250 rose 42 to 4,416.9, while the FTSE Small Cap index added 20.8 to finish at 1,858.2. Despite the looming bank holiday weekend, trading volumes were good with more than 2.2bn shares changing hands.

In the bond market, gilts fell as investors took profits after two days of gains. The benchmark 10-year gilt fell to 104.790, pushing the yield up to 4.46%.

Back among the blue chips, BAE Systems , off 0.5p to 124p, bucked the strong market trend after secretive stockbroker Cazenove downgraded its rating on Europe's leading defence contractor to "reduce" from "hold" citing cashflow concerns. Cazenove estimates net debt will balloon to 1bn by the end of 2004 if BAE fails to secure a major export order within the next year. Given that BAE has struggled to secure such deals in recent years, Cazenove reckons investors would be better off reducing their holdings.

Profit taking after its recent speculative run saw drinks group Allied Domecq ease 5.25p to 357p. However, market professionals still reckon a bid is on the way.

Lower down the corporate ladder, Westbury , up 11.5p to 321p, was in demand as bid speculation swirled round the west country housebuilder.

Lastminute.com , the online travel agent, improved 9p to 107.75p as the London market had its first chance to react to better than expected figures from USA Interactive, the owner of online travel company Expedia. On Thursday night, USA Interactive shares gained 10% after it revealed bookings had recovered in the later part of April. Meanwhile, property group Shaftesbury gained 1p to 163p after Merrill Lynch cleared a large overhang of shares.

Among the small caps, Holmes Place , the upmarket health and fitness club operator, extended its losses since Wednesday's dreadful full year figures to 25%. Yesterday's damage was done by speculation that venture capital groups Bridgepoint and Permira have made an offer of just 18p-a-share for Holmes Place, which is still in discussions with its banks about securing a new lending facility. The shares fell 5.25p to 27.75p.

On a brighter note GW Pharmaceuticals , the medicines from cannabis company, climbed to a record high of 207.5p, up 10p, as momentum investors chased the stock higher and amid speculation that GW is close to signing a pan-marketing and distribution deal for its multiple sclerosis treatment. According to market gossips the name in the frame is German drug maker Bayer.

Elsewhere, European Colour advanced 3p to 24p after Jarvis Porter , the cash shell that recently acquired Aim-listed Darby Group, increased its stake in the pigments group to 29.73% - just below the 30% threshold at which it would have to make a bid for the company.

Citigroup Smith Barney upgrades both British Airways and SAS AB in a preview of the sector's results season, dealers said. BA was raised to 'outperform' from 'in-line' at the US broker, although it also trimmed forecasts and cut its target price to 170 pence from 200. SAS was raised to 'in-line' from 'underperform', with target lowered to 42 skr from 52. Overall, Smith Barney predicts the airlines to show the worst set of results in 12 years. "As a result of the Iraq war, excessive low-cost competition and the SARS virus, the outlook for earnings could hardly be more negative," it told clients. It therefore lowered earnings forecasts for 2003 and 2004 for all European airlines save Ryanair Holdings PLC. But against this, it reckons the grim year has been priced into some stocks. And there is some good news, Smith Barney argued, with Atlantic demand stabilising, traffic rebounding and consolidation possible. Its top picks for the next cycle, along with BA, were Easyjet PLC, Iberia Aereas de Espana SA and Ryanair. All were repeated 'outperform'.

Jesus Christ talk about spam, pages of it and on a holiday weekend too, sad?

Jesus wepped ..... shagnasty seems an appropiate name




BRITISH AIRWAYS RE-LAUNCHES ITS EXECUTIVE CLUB




06 May 2003
- ADDED BENEFITS FOR FREQUENT FLYER MEMBERS -

British Airways is to introduce a series of changes to its Executive Club loyalty programme from 1 July 2003 to make the scheme simpler, with more ways to spend BA Miles and better incentives for loyal customers.

The Executive Club, which has almost five million members worldwide, is split into three levels of membership - Blue, Silver and Gold.

Key changes include:

The creation of a global Executive Club, by merging the five existing schemes into one programme

Customers will now for the first time be able to use their BA miles to upgrade to the next cabin on eligible tickets and to also use a
combination of cash and BA miles to purchase a ticket

Improvements to the website to enable members to manage their accounts entirely on-line, including redeeming their BA Miles.

A new classification system which enables customers to redeem their BA miles on a geographical zone basis rather than on a route by
route basis

The introduction of a household account which allows up to seven members of the family to earn points and pool BA Miles in order to
achieve benefits of the Executive Club quicker. This scheme replaces the Middle East Family Passport Programme.

Entry and renewal thresholds to the Silver and Gold tiers have been aligned to make gaining and maintaining tier status simpler and fairer.

The ability to earn more points in each of the premium cabins, including World Traveller Plus, Club World, First and Concorde.

All Executive Club members will now be able to book their redemption tickets up to three days before departure on routes where e-
tickets are available. This is down from the 14 days notice required under the old terms and conditions

New customers wishing to join as a Blue member will now have to take one qualifying flight a year to gain and to also maintain their
annual membership

Steve Allen, British Airways Area Marketing Manager for UAE & Oman, said: By simplifying the club and creating a single global programme our objective is to deliver better service to our loyal customers and offer them more chances to take advantage of flying with British Airways.

The global simplified scheme will allow British Airways to respond much better to our customers feedback and offers greater opportunities to add more benefits in the future for our members.

All active British Airways Executive Club members around the world have been written to in one of the biggest communication exercises the airline has ever undertaken.

-Ends-

Notes to Editors:

Due to the realignment of entry and renewal thresholds some members may not in July have the required number of points to
maintain their current tier status, in this case they will be given a 12 month free extension period to enable them to adjust to
the new terms and conditions.

For more information, contact
Leanne Blackenberg,
Promoseven PR,
Dubai,
Tel +00971 4 3368826,
Fax +971 4 3368609/96 or
email leanne@promoseven.com


Press Release 2003

ticking up @ 135p and very close to the year's high ......



ains

3rd in the ftse250 risers board intraday @ 143p @ plus 6% and at a 6 month high :-))

Durlatcher has them as atrading buy up to 165p

TRAFFIC AND CAPACITY STATISTICS - April 2003

Summary of the headline figures

In April 2003, overall load factor rose 0.7 points to 64.6 per cent. Passenger
capacity, measured in Available Seat Kilometres, was 1.3 per cent below April
2002 and traffic, measured in Revenue Passenger Kilometres, was lower by 2.0 per
cent. This resulted in a passenger load factor down 0.4 points versus last year,
to 69.0 per cent. The fall in traffic comprised a 26.4 per cent reduction in
premium traffic and a 2.7 per cent increase in non-premium traffic. These
numbers were impacted by the timing of Easter versus last year. Cargo, measured
in Cargo Tonne Kilometres, fell by 7.3 per cent.

Market conditions

Revenue and forward bookings continue to be impacted by global economic
weakness, SARS, and the situation in Iraq. Forward visibility on revenue and
traffic remains limited.

Strategic Developments

British Airways announced the retirement of its Concorde fleet of seven aircraft
with effect from the end of October 2003.

A U.S. Department of Transportation order tentatively gave British Airways and
American Airlines authority to codeshare on a wide number of flights beyond
their gateways in London and the United States.

British Airways launched a new direct air link from Glasgow to London City
operated by its wholly owned subsidiary, British Airways CitiExpress, using 110
seat RJ100 jet aircraft. This follows the launch of flights from London City to
Paris and Frankfurt on March 30th. There will be three return flights on
weekdays and one return service on Sundays.

British Airways resumed flights from Heathrow to Tel Aviv and Kuwait and
re-introduced direct services to Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Bahrain, Jeddah and
Riyadh. It also announced plans to return to Baghdad with a thrice weekly
service, when it is safe to do so.

British Airways franchise operator, GB Airways, announced the introduction of
another two destinations Fuerteventura and Tenerife North - to its network from
the UK.

Ends

Merrill Lynch said the worst was over for the airline industry and Citigroup Smith Barney upgraded its rating to "outperform". Citigroup reckons BA is the best play on a return to normal political and economic conditions.

9 May 2003, Evening Standard

BRITISH Airways and Qantas, which today applied to Australian regulators for an indefinite extension to their joint-services agreement, warned if it were not approved, they may have to cut flights to Britain, Europe and Singapore. The agreements have turned the London to Sydney route from a loss-maker into one of the airlines' most profitable.

Williams de Broe has buy ratings for BAA, British Airways

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