War in Iraq has forced British Airways to cut capacity by four per cent, including the suspension of some flights to the United States, and speed up extensive job cuts.
BA said it would bring forward completion of a planned 13,000 job cuts to September this year from its previous March 2004 target. It said it would make its latest capacity cuts in April and May, which include the suspension of one of its daily London to New York flights.
Shares in BA, which was recently relegated from Britain's blue-chip FTSE 100 index, were down 2.5 per cent at 119 pence in early morning trade.
Britain's flagship airline is in the midst of an aggressive restructuring drive, including 13,000 job cuts, while rivals such as Lufthansa aim to avoid layoffs.
BA has cut capacity by about a fifth in the past two years. It has also cut capacity by 12 per cent on its transatlantic routes, on which it relies heavily for high-margin revenues.
Last week, BA said it was still on track to post a profit this financial year despite the Iraq war which has seen airlines around the world stop flights to the Middle East region and led to a sharp drop in passenger numbers.
The company also said it would review its capital expenditure, although it added it had over £2 billion in cash.