An aggressive marketing and online booking strategy is paying off for British Airways after announcing today that its short-haul business is profitable for the first tine in ten years. The airline, which still relies heavily on its long-haul routes for a significant chunk of its business, revealed the recovery in the European operations during the…
Web pushes BA short haul into profit
An aggressive marketing and online booking strategy is paying off for British Airways after announcing today that its short-haul business is profitable for the first tine in ten years.
The airline, which still relies heavily on its long-haul routes for a significant chunk of its business, revealed the recovery in the European operations during the unveiling of its financial results.
BA also said its online check-in system had been “very well received” by customers.
The turn around in the fortunes of the short haul business comes less than a year since ex-Aer Lingus boss Willie Walsh took over as chief executive.
In recent months BA.com has been at the forefront of a concerted effort to go head-to-head with the likes of Ryanair and EasyJet in the competitive European short-haul market.
It has attempted to channel ticket sales through the site, especially in recent weeks with a massive sale on short-haul routes.
Earlier this year the airline announced plans to slash ticket prices by half to around 60 destinations in Europe.
Walsh said: “Our short-haul business is now in profit for the first time in ten years but we have still more to do.”
BA revealed a pre-tax profit of £620 million for the 12 months ending 31 March, up from £513 million during the previous period.
The airline’s operating margin increased by 1% to 8.3%, but Walsh reiterated a long-term goal for BA to achieve a 10% margin by 2008.
