BA Losses Lead To Job Cuts

British Airways has announced plans to cut and extra 1,200 jobs, after reporting a pre-tax loss of £292 million for the six months of the year until September 2009.

The struggling airline had previously announced plans to cut 3,700 posts by next March and has already cut nearly 2,000 posts through measures such as voluntary redundancy and reduced overtime.

It is the first time that BA has made a loss in the first half of the year, as this is usually their strongest period, because it incorporates the traditionally busy summer season.

BA made a £52 million profit during the same profit in 2008, although it lost £401 million over all that year.

The airline's Chief Executive Willie Walsh said that the aviation industry remained in recession and was facing a £1 billion drop in revenue as a whole this year.

Speaking to the BBC, he described 2009 as the "most difficult year in the history of the aviation industry".

The misery could continue to BA as the airline also faces the possibility of strike action, over plans to impost changes on jobs and pay, which BA has said are essential in order for it to survive.

The plans included reducing the number of cabin crew staff from 15 to 14 - a measure that will be introduced from November 16 - as well as imposing a pay freeze for the next two years.

This week, the Unite union said that it would continue to ballot the airline's cabin crew staff on possible strike action, although its legal challenge to the new working patterns has been delayed.

The union had sought a High Court injunction to stop the changes being introduced, but the trial is not now expected to go ahead until February next year. BA has said that it will fight the application, arguing that it has not broken any contracts.

The union said that staff would "unwillingly" work the new schedules, but stressed that the strike ballot would continue, with the results expected on December 14.

(KMcA/BMcC)