BA to announce improved Q3 profits

British Airways was today expected to unveil a sharp improvement in third quarter profits.

The company was tipped to show profits increasing to about £100m (€145m) as conditions improve in the air travel market.

BA said last week security issues were affecting its forward bookings, with passenger traffic in January this year standing at 3.5% – lower than the 5.3% recorded for the third quarter as a whole.

Total passenger numbers last month fell by 1.2% to 2.51 million compared to the same time last year.

BA has been among airlines to suffer as concerns about possible terrorist attacks have led to the cancellation of a number of transatlantic flights.

BA chief executive Rod Eddington has called for closer co-operation between governments to tackle terrorist threats.