BA reveals cost of winter chaos
British Airways estimates the severe weather in December will cost the airline £50 million.
image courtesy of Alan Huse
It said an initial assessment indicates that the weather disruption, which saw Heathrow, Gatwick and other key European airports close, will also have a small impact in January due to cancelled return journeys.
Releasing its traffic figures for the month, BA said it suffered an 8.3% fall in traffic in December because of the bad weather.
The airline saw passenger capacity, measured in Available Seat Kilometres, down 7.7% on December 2009.
This meant passenger load factor fell 0.4 points from 76.8% in 2009 to 76.4%.
Premium traffic was down 1.6% while non-premium traffic fell 9.6%.
The airport closures equated to a reduction in capacity versus December 2009 of around 12%.
But BA said underlying market conditions remain positive.
The airline also announced some changes to its board.
Non-executive director Gavin Patterson, currently chief executive BT Retail, will be joining the Board from February 1.
Two executive directors will join the Board at the time of the merger with Iberia – Andrew Crawley, currently sales and marketing director, who will become director, commercial and Frank van der Post, who joins the company as managing director brands and customer experience.
By Bev Fearis
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know
Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham
Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago
Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research
Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact
Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference
Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role
Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal
Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination
Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness
Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future
Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
ADS PRO 
Global tourism exceeds 1.5 billion travelers announces UN-Tourism
Qatar Airways offers reduced timetable to over 60 destinations
WTTC global tourism reached record economic impact of 11 trillion in 2025
Hands In, UATP join forces for airline multi-card payments
Overseas travelers to the United States declined by 2.5% in 2025