1st Quarter Results

British Airways PLC
05 August 2005


GOOD Q1 RESULTS
     
•    Pre-tax profit of £124 million

•    Operating profit of £176 million

•    Operating margin of 8.5 per cent

•    Revenue up 8.3 per cent to £2.1 billion

•    Net unit costs improve 0.1 per cent

•    Net debt down at £2.5 billion


British Airways today reported its quarterly financial results for the period
ending June 30th, 2005, prepared under International Financial Reporting
Standards (IFRS).  All comparative results are also reported under IFRS.

The airline reported a pre-tax profit of £124 million (2004: £75 million profit)
for the first quarter to June 30, 2005.

The operating profit for the first quarter was £176 million (2004: £129 million
profit) delivering an operating margin of 8.5 per cent (2004: 6.8 per cent).

Sir Rod Eddington, British Airways' chief executive, said: 'These are good
results despite a 37.6 per cent increase in fuel costs.  The improvement in 
passenger revenue is driven by more customers flying in the premium cabins.

'We continued to improve the service we offer to our customers.  Online
customers can now book hotels, car hire and sightseeing tours on ba.com, as well
as flights, in a single transaction. Online boarding passes are now accepted at
53 airports and the use of e-tickets continues to rise with 94 per cent of our
customers using them on eligible routes.

'We began new services to Shanghai, announced plans to increase flights to India
and will next year add four new European destinations to our network.  We have
fitted our award winning Club World flat beds on four Boeing 767s.  We have
improved our Skyflyers service for families with a refurbished lounge at
Heathrow Terminal 1.  We were also delighted to back the winning bid to stage
the Olympics in London in 2012.

'Finally, these are my last quarterly financial results at the airline and I
would like to thank our staff for their support during the last five years.
Their commitment to rebuilding our business has helped return British Airways to
the top of the airline operating profit league table.

'There is still much work to be done to achieve a 10 per cent operating margin
and I am confident that under Willie Walsh's leadership, our people will
continue to rise to the challenge.'

Martin Broughton, British Airways' chairman, said: 'Record passenger loads in
July indicate that the short term impact of the London bombings was not material
although it is too early to say what the long term impact will be. When taken
together with the uncertain economic outlook and volatility in both fuel prices
and the US Dollar exchange rate, accurate forecasting is even more of a
challenge than usual.  Market conditions, however, remain broadly unchanged.

'The continuing strength of the US Dollar and increased surcharges have improved
the revenue outlook. We now expect total revenue for the year to March 2006 to
grow by 5.5 - 6.5 per cent. Capacity and volume are still expected to increase
by about 3 per cent with total yield flat.

'We now expect fuel costs, net of hedging, to be about £525 million more than
last year, a further increase of £75 million, largely driven by the stronger US
Dollar.'

In a tribute to Sir Rod Eddington, he added: 'British Airways has become a
leaner and more robust company under Rod's leadership, with a loyal, motivated
workforce.  His legacy is the culture change he has introduced across the
company, in particular, the widespread acceptance and understanding of the need
to achieve a 10 per cent operating margin.'

Passenger capacity, measured in available seat kilometres (ASKs), increased by
1.5 per cent for the quarter and revenue passenger kilometres (RPKs) were up 2.5
per cent.  Seat factor was up 0.7 points at a record 75.6 per cent in the
quarter.

Yield measured as pence per RPK increased by 1.5 per cent - driven by more
premium traffic.

Cargo volumes, measured in cargo tonne kilometers (CTKs), were down 2.6 per cent
compared with last year, with yields up 2.7 per cent.  Overall load factor was
69 per cent, down 0.2 points on last year.

Total costs were up by 6.2 per cent largely driven by a 37.6 per cent increase
in the cost of fuel.  Selling costs reduced by 21.7 per cent due to travel
agents' commission restructuring and increased online sales. Net unit costs
improved by 0.1 per cent in the same period.

Employee costs rose 5.4 per cent reflecting wage awards and increased pension
costs, only partially offset by manpower reductions.

Revenue in the quarter, at £2.1 billion, was up 8.3 per cent.  Net debt was
£2,527 million, down £395 million since the start of the financial year.


                                    ends

August 5, 2005                                                        075 /KG/05


Notes to Editors
     
•    Plans for new European routes from Gatwick include Grenoble this year and 
     Tirana, Varna, Izmir and Reykjavik next year.

•    For all periods up to and including March 2005, British Airways has 
     previously prepared its Group financial statements under UK Generally 
     Accepted Accounting Practice (UK GAAP).

•    British Airways restated its 2004/05 accounts to International Financial 
     Reporting Standards (IFRS). The restated accounts were published on July 4, 
     2005. All comparators referred to are based on these restated accounts.

A webcast of British Airways' conference call to city analysts can be accessed
via the internet  www.bashares.com - on Friday, August 5 at 2pm.

Certain information included in this statement is forward-looking and involves
risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially
from those expressed or implied by the forward looking statements.

Forward-looking statements include, without limitation, projections relating to
results of operations and financial conditions and the Company's plans and
objectives for future operations, including, without limitation, discussions of
the Company's 'Future Size and Shape' programme, expected future revenues,
financing plans and expected expenditures and divestments.  All forward-looking
statements in this report are based upon information known to the Company on the
date of this report.  The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or
revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information,
future events or otherwise.

It is not reasonably possible to itemise all of the many factors and specific
events that could cause the Company's forward looking statements to be incorrect
or that could otherwise have a material adverse effect on the future operations
or results of an airline operating in the global economy.  Information on some
factors which could result in material difference to the results is available in
the Company's SEC filings, including, without limitation the Company's Report on
Form 20-F for the year ended March 2005.


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