BA announces dip in passenger numbers

British Airways carried 2.5% fewer passengers last month than in June 2006, it was announced today.

A dip in the number of economy-cabin travellers on North Atlantic and domestic routes contributed to the fall to 3,002,000 passengers in June 2007.

While Africa and Middle East route passenger numbers rose 4% last month, UK and Europe traffic was 3.1% down, North and South America was 3.1% down and Asia Pacific traffic fell 4%.

BA, which had to cancel more than 100 flights yesterday after a baggage scare at Heathrow’s Terminal 4, said it was “too early” to assess the impact of the latest security measures at airports following the Glasgow airport incident last weekend.

BA’s planes were 80.5% full in June 2007 compared with 81.9% in June last year.

Overall, while premium traffic (first class and business class) rose 1.4% last month, non-premium (economy class) dipped 1.9%.

BA said the weakness of the US dollar against the pound, while not helpful to revenue, was “having a positive impact on costs”.

Meanwhile, budget carrier Ryanair announced today that it carried 4.34 million passengers in June 2007 – 18% more than in June 2006.

The Irish no-frills airline’s planes were 85% full last month compared with 87% in June 2006.