Airline ticket price rises ‘inevitable’

8:55am Friday 18th July 2008

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BRITISH Airways passengers will have to contend with flight reductions and fare rises, it has been revealed.

BA is likely to announce a three to five per cent cutback in capacity for winter 2008-09 and ticket price rises, possibly of more than four per cent, were ‘‘absolutely inevitable’’, the airline’s chief executive Willie Walsh said.

Mr Walsh was speaking after a two-andhalf hour BA annual meeting in London at which some shareholders were critical of the Heathrow Terminal Five debacle, with one shareholder calling for the resignations of Mr Walsh and BA chairman Martin Broughton.

Mr Walsh told shareholders that ‘‘this will not be an easy year’’, while Mr Broughton said the airline was ‘‘up to our necks in perhaps the biggest crisis the aviation industry has ever known.”

Mr Broughton said extra fuel costs this year were likely to be more than £1bn. He promised BA would make changes to try to ease the financial situation. Calls for Naomi Campbell, who was banned by the airline after causing disruption on a transatlantic flight, to be welcomed back were met by booing from shareholders.