Europe's struggling airline industry received a shot in the arm yesterday when German carrier Lufthansa raised its profits forecast for the year and ordered 10 new Airbus jets
Published:
1 August 2002 y., Thursday
Hammered by the slump in demand since last September's terrorist attacks on the US, European airlines have savaged costs, including thousands of jobs and planned orders, to restore profitability.
Lufthansa's forecast that its operating profits this year would be €500m (£314m) - compared with the €400m it predicted at its June annual meeting - propelled British Airways' shares skywards. They closed up 11p, or 7.4%, at 160p - the third highest rise in the FTSE 100 on the day.
The boost to BA's stock came ahead of tomorrow's first-quarter figures, which are expected to show pre-tax profits of around £80m - compared with the £200m pre-tax losses for the whole of 2001 and £50m earnings in the first quarter a year ago.
The airline also announced changes to its winter schedule which increase services to lucrative destinations such as New York and switch more routes from Gatwick to Heathrow in order to regain profitability. BA is increasing daily sub-sonic flights from Heathrow to New York from six to seven and weekly flights to Cape Town from seven to 10 among the changes, which will see capacity static compared with 2001.
Lufthansa said it would buy 10 Airbus A330-300s for delivery in 2004, prompting Airbus to claim it had so far won 76% of the medium to long range market so far this year.
Šaltinis:
guardian.co.uk
Copying, publishing, announcing any information from the News.lt portal without written permission of News.lt editorial office is prohibited.
The most popular articles
Standard & Poor's (S&P) affirmed Lithuania's long-term investment grade sovereign foreign currency BBB credit rating and removed it from a CreditWatch negative position, citing government commitments to address deteriorating public finances.
more »
The EBRD-EIB Multilateral Carbon Credit Fund (MCCF) and Azerenerji Joint Stock Company are collaborating in order to promote energy-efficient power generation in Azerbaijan.
more »
U.S. President Barack Obama, meeting with the leaders of Mexico and Canada, called on all three nations hit by the global recession to avoid resorting to protectionism.
more »
A 10-year $75 million EBRD loan will finance the construction of a combined heat and power plant in the east Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk which is expected to improve energy efficiency and cut pollution by 14 percent thanks to the use of more environmentally-friendly technologies.
more »
The Directorate-General for Competition has issued a review of the aid schemes introduced by Member States and approved by the Commission during the financial crisis.
more »
Rescue planes from New Zealand have been taking part in a massive search for passengers after a ferry sank off the coast of Tonga. At least 27 people are missing.
more »
Courtney Adams has always loved cooking. As a kid she baked brownies for her friends and in college her apartment was the place to go to for a home-cooked meal. But she never thought she'd cook for a living.
more »
The European Commission has authorised, under EC Treaty state aid rules, a scheme offering reduced-interest loans to businesses investing in the production of environmentally friendly products, as part of the German package to tackle the current economic crisis.
more »
Ramūnas Bičiulaitis, former board member and financial director of AB LEO LT, starts working as head of the Finance Department of Danske Bankas.
more »
The EBRD has kept up a rapid pace in the syndicated loans market, defying difficult market conditions and pulling together nine deals so far this year, worth a total €1.2 billion.
more »