BA gets back in the black

British Airways today returned to the black with profits of £135m (€188m) - despite losing £200m (€279m) during the first three months of this year.

The airline’s figures for the year to March 31 show the impact of cost-cutting measures after making its first annual loss since it was privatised 15 years ago during the previous financial period.

However, the impact of the SARS virus and the war in Iraq, coupled with the £84m (€117.2m) one-off cost of retiring Concorde, meant the company’s losses in the fourth quarter widened to £200m (€279m) from £85m (€118.6m) a year earlier.