September Traffic Statistics

British Airways PLC
3 October 2001

               TRAFFIC AND CAPACITY STATISTICS - SEPTEMBER 2001


September was a month of considerable disruption for passenger traffic, cargo
and aircraft flying. On September 11, 29 flights were diverted. North Atlantic
capacity was grounded until the evening of September 14 and a full schedule
was only operating again on September 23. In the week of September 11, traffic
to the US was down around 60 per cent. The revenue loss for the week was some
£48 million and operating results were impacted by some £40 million. The costs
associated with the disruption and taking care of passengers were
considerable. The impact of immediate security and restrictions on cargo were
also considerable.


Immediate action was taken to conserve cash and analyse the impact on the
business. On September 17, an extensive series of cost cutting measures was
announced, including a further headcount reduction of 5,200 and the plan to
take 20 aircraft out of the flying programme. On September 24 a revised
network plan was announced for the winter programme that will reduce capacity
by around 9 per cent more than the previous plan of some 8 per cent.


Summary of the headline figures

Capacity in September, measured in Available Seat Kilometres, was 13.8 per
cent below September 2000. Traffic, measured in Revenue Passenger Kilometres,
fell 22.0 per cent. The reduction in traffic comprised a 33.2 per cent decline
in premium traffic and a 20.0 per cent fall in non-premium traffic. Passenger
load factor of 69.2 per cent was down 7.3 points on September 2000. Cargo,
measured in Cargo Tonne Kilometres, fell by 38.0 per cent.


For the July - September quarter, ASKs were down 10.5 per cent, with RPKs down
14.0 per cent. Premium traffic fell by 19.3 per cent, while non-premium
traffic fell by 13.2 per cent. Cargo Tonne Kilometres fell by 23.1 per cent.


Market conditions

Trading is difficult. In the seven days following the attacks, traffic was
down by around 36 per cent, and subsequently recovered to be down 28 per cent
in the last week of the month. In that last week, seat factor on North America
was down some 30 per cent, Middle East was down some 10 per cent and Far East
was down some 10 percent (against a market that was already weaker than the
previous year). Shorthaul was down some 12 per cent but this is largely driven
by the reduction in transfer flows from the longhaul network. Business traffic
has been more heavily affected as many companies introduced restrictions due
to concerns about travel risk. Equally we would expect this segment of the
market to recover more quickly as any perceived risks are better understood.
Until any retaliatory action becomes clear, the outlook will remain
unpredictable. Forward bookings for October are indicating that traffic for
that month will be down by around 25-30 per cent versus last year, with
capacity down at least 15 per cent. Clearly, forward bookings are volatile; a
further update will be given at the interim results on November 6.


Costs

Costs for insurance and security are expected to rise significantly going
forward.

Expected fuel costs for the year have fallen due to lower prices and a reduced
flying programme to around £50 million less than last year.


Strategic developments

The events of September 11 have in no way reduced the company's focus on its
core strategy of reducing capacity and exposure to the unprofitable business
segments. In response to the weaker travel outlook both longhaul and shorthaul
capacity have been reduced and some of the Gatwick restructuring plans that
were announced 10 months ago have been brought forward. The fleet and network
plans are working towards aligning capacity with expected demand while
maintaining the flexibility to respond to further market changes. As the
revenue outlook becomes clearer we will make the necessary changes to align
supply with our view of stable demand.


Meetings with the UK Government continue to discuss airport security and
insurance, as well as the need to maintain a level playing field with respect
to any government support. The company has restated its view that
liberalisation is core to the long-term success of the airline industry.


Outlook

British Airways is in a sound position in spite of the immediate revenue
pressures, having responded quickly with a series of measures to reduce the
scale of our business. We continue to assess the demand outlook, and will take
all necessary actions.




October 3, 2001

BRITISH AIRWAYS MONTHLY TRAFFIC AND CAPACITY STATISTICS

                           Month of September       Financial year to date
                                                   April through September
BRITISH AIRWAYS                         Change                       Change
SCHEDULED SERVICES          2001  2000     (%)      2001     2000       (%)

Passengers carried (000)
UK/Europe                   2449  2581    -5.1     15351    15159      +1.3
Americas                     488   720   -32.1      3672     4563     -19.5
Asia Pacific                 149   188   -20.6       908     1135     -20.0
Africa and Middle East       235   270   -12.8      1475     1512      -2.5
Total                       3322  3758   -11.6     21406    22369      -4.3

Revenue passenger km (m)
UK/Europe                   1984  2177    -8.9     12581    12856      -2.1
Americas                    3356  4946   -32.2     24997    31182     -19.8
Asia Pacific                1503  1901   -20.9      9031    11123     -18.8
Africa and Middle East      1574  1773   -11.2      9847     9866      -0.2
Total                       8417 10797   -22.0     56455    65027     -13.2

Available seat km (m)
UK/Europe                   3115  3059    +1.8     18984    18585      +2.1
Americas                    4936  6331   -22.0     33664    39444     -14.7
Asia Pacific                1917  2269   -15.5     12112    14367     -15.7
Africa and Middle East      2199  2447   -10.2     13930    14713      -5.3
Total                      12166 14107   -13.8     78690    87109      -9.7

Passenger load factor (%)
UK/Europe                   63.7  71.2    -7.5 pts  66.3     69.2      -2.9 pts
Americas                    68.0  78.1   -10.1 pts  74.3     79.1      -4.8 pts
Asia Pacific                78.4  83.8    -5.4 pts  74.6     77.4      -2.8 pts
Africa and Middle East      71.6  72.4    -0.8 pts  70.7     67.1      +3.6 pts
Total                       69.2  76.5    -7.3 pts  71.7     74.7      -3.0 pts

Revenue tonne km (RTK) (m)
Cargo tonne km (CTK)         251   405   -38.0      2031     2433     -16.5
Total RTK                   1100  1485   -25.9      7653     8929     -14.3
Available tonne km (m)      1826  2084   -12.4     11915    12771      -6.7
Overall load factor (%)     60.2  71.3   -11.1 pts  64.2     69.9      -5.7 pts



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