British Airways today reported a fall in February passenger traffic of 2.5 per cent on last year, but passengers continued to return after the September 11th attacks in the US.
"Traffic improvements have continued in February," BA said in a statement today, referring to the slower rate of decline in traffic numbers over the past several months. In January passenger traffic fell 6.9 per cent on year.
BA relies heavily on the transatlantic market for its profits. It said passenger traffic on its Americas routes declined only 3.5 per cent in February on the same month a year earlier, having fallen 8.2 per cent in January.
The slump in demand for transatlantic flights after the September 11th attacks, the economic downturn and competition from no-frills rivals has forced Europe's largest airline to cut 13,000 jobs and restructure operations.
"The seat factor (which measures how successfully an airline fills its seats) of 71.6 per cent is the highest in 10 years for the month of February," said the airline.