Company Watch - British Airways.

For more company data and analysis, please go to: http://www.airguideonline.com/professional.htm May 22, 2006

Airport slots are always a cause of contention. Figures which show that British Airways 40% domination of Heathrow is far less than by other carriers at major gateways. Lufthansa has 59.3% of availability at Frankfurt and Air France 57.5% at Charles de Gaulle. KLM dominates Amsterdam with 52.9% whilst on the other side of the Atlantic "you aint seen nothing yet". At Cincinnati, Delta is by far and away the airport's main business with 87.2% of what is available and at Newark Continental comes in with 66.1%. Northwest dominates Detroit, Memphis and Minneapolis with the slot situation in the mid-70% and as you might well expect American Airlines is the major carrier at Dallas-Fort Worth with 80% of the available slots. May 21, 2006

Barclaycard Business latest research has revealed that British Airways remains the favoured airline for business travelers for the fifth year running. Nearly half of the survey respondents (48%) say they like BA because of the choice of route and airport location, whilst 42% cite affection and trust for the brand. easyJet comes next stealing second place from Virgin Atlantic for the first time and also showing that the reasons for choosing a particular airline vary considerably between service providers. Over half (58%) of those who favour Virgin Atlantic do so because they like the brand while, unsurprisingly, easyJet customers are primarily attracted by low fares (85%). British Airways, with its massive network, remains the undisputed champion amongst employees of larger companies, increasing its share of this market to 54% in 2005/06, way ahead of its nearest competitor, Virgin Atlantic (7%). This, the tenth annual Barclaycard Business Travel Survey, questioned 2,500 respondents (CEOs, company directors, managers and executives), about all aspects of business travel from airlines and hotels to online bookings. May 21, 2006

British Airways announced last Friday a pre-tax profit of [pounds sterling]620m in the year to 31 March 2006 (2005: [pounds sterling]513m profit). The pre-tax profit for the fourth quarter was [pounds sterling]91m (against a [pounds sterling]6m loss for the same period last year). Net debt at [pounds sterling]1.6bn fell by [pounds sterling]1.3bn during the year, a [pounds sterling]5bn reduction since its December 2001 peak. Willie Walsh, chief executive, noted that the airline's short haul business is now in profit for the first time in ten years. He said that there was more to do. On the subject of staff pensions he commented that he was pleased with the on going dialogue BA was having with staff, trustees and trade unions on this vital issue. "Self-service check-in, both online and at airport kiosks, has been very well received by our customers. We continue to enhance and develop new products and this summer will upgrade our in-flight entertainment and introduce our new Club World flat bed." In announcing the results BA said that market conditions remain broadly unchanged and noted the rise in fuel costs, but not the passenger surcharges. The Board has recommended that no final dividend be paid. May 21, 2006

Martin Broughton, chairman of British Airways, continues to fly the flag for the airline. In a document published by the TransAtlantic Business Dialogue (TABD) previewing the forthcoming EU/US Summit, attended by US president George Bush and Jose Manuel Barroso, president of the European Commission, Mr Broughton has called for the US and European governments to recognise the dangers and resist any protectionist pressures that might damage this $3 trillion trade. In the foreword, Broughton and Citigroup chairman and CEO Charles Prince said: "The transatlantic economic relationship remains the most integrated and significant relationship in the world, accounting for over half of GDP and one third of global trade. Protectionism threatens future of transatlantic trade". TABD is a group of 30 chairmen and chief executives of some the world's biggest companies. May 21, 2006