British Airways to ground 16 747s and 757s for winter
British Airways is to ground 16 aircraft for the upcoming winter season, to rein in capacity following the sharp decline in passenger demand.
It will ground eight Boeing 747-400s and eight 757-200s in order to cut capacity by 4% for winter 2009-10.
BA has already laid plans to sell the 757 fleet to another operator for cargo conversion.
The airline has already increased its capacity reduction for the summer season to 2.5% from the 2% it disclosed in March.
Over winter 2008-09 the airline cut capacity by 3.1%.
BA says it has the flexibility to withdraw more of its long-haul aircraft, notably as the number of jets in its fleet older than 20 years - some of its Boeing 747-400s and 767s - is set to increase. Sixteen of its 121 long-haul aircraft will be above this 20-year threshold in 2010-11.
"We are taking action to mitigate the impact of the economic crisis on our business," said BA chief Willie Walsh, after detailing a heavy full-year operating loss for the airline of £220 million ($349 million).
BA's operating loss in the fourth quarter reached £309 million, as revenues dropped by 8.4% to £1.9 billion. Yields were down 2.5%, but 16% excluding exchange.
