British Airways to slash winter flight schedule after $1.54 billion quarterly loss

British Airways to slash its winter flight schedule after the company reported a quarterly loss of $1.54 billion due to coronavirus pandemic.

International Airlines Group, the owner of British Airways, warned the travel slump from the coronavirus pandemic had deepened.

The loss was far larger than expected. As a second wave of COVID-19 infections spreads across Europe, airlines are facing a desolated winter and IAG joins Lufthansa, Ryanair, and easyJet in cutting back schedules.

In addition to this, the IAG said that for the fourth quarter — which includes the normally busy Christmas period — it would fly no more than 30 percent of the capacity.

Shares in the company dropped 3 percent to 97 pence soon after the open. The stock has lost 78 percent in the year-to-date as the pandemic has crushed its business.

IAG said that British Airways raised €2.74 billion from shareholders via a rights issue and received the funds in early October, raising its total liquidity to €9.3 billion.

IAG said it would provide more detailed results on Oct. 30.

In September it was reported that British Airways, is facing the worst financial crisis in its history due to the lockdown caused by the long going coronavirus pandemic.

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the Chief executive officer of British Airways has told the parliamentary committee in a meeting that the airlines is facing its worst-ever financial crunches.  The CEO said that the airline is operating at 25 to 30 percent of its regular flights. He said that due to financial crunches, thousands of people have lost their jobs. He further said that because of the low number of flights, fewer people were needed to provide service to the passengers.

“We are not seeing an immediate return of our passengers in a short period of time, so the airline is taking all possible steps to ensure that the winter season passes,” he said.

The CEO of the UK’s national carrier told the committee that the airline is currently going through the worst period in its 100-year history and is fighting for survival in the business.

Giving more details, the CEO said the company has no choice but to lose 20 million pounds a day, while the CEO himself has cut his salary by almost a third.