British Airways chief executive Mr Rod Eddington said today economy travel remains airlines' focus and will keep revenues under pressure.
His comments came hours before the last commercial flight of BA's costly supersonic Concorde.
"A very sad day in many ways, but also a day of celebration," Mr Eddington said of Concorde's final flight.
He said the airline industry's revenues would remain under pressure next year and possibly into 2005 as cheaper fares force carriers to cut operating costs.
"The focus is very much on the economy of travel, on getting your seat-mile costs down as low as you can, so that you can offer cheaper fares," he said.
While global airline sector growth slows, low-fare carriers in the United States and Europe, including Southwest Airlines and Ryanair Holdings, are gaining market share.
The CEO of Europe's biggest airline said his priorities were safeguarding BA's finances and its role in a sector facing consolidation, even if that meant risking the loss of Concorde passengers.
"It seems to me there will one day be a replacement for Concorde, but before that can happen the issue of the supersonic boom needs to be resolved and the issue of operating economics, because supersonic travel is very fuel-intensive."