According to British Airways chief executive, Willie Walsh, economic recovery in the UK is still at least two years away.
Speaking this week in Hyderabad, to which BA recently opened a route, Walsh said: ‘For us in the UK, the outlook is certainly no easier than anywhere else. Because of the high importance of the financial services sector, it is perhaps a bleaker outlook than in other countries.
‘At the moment, I would expect things to continue getting worse rather than better.
‘I cannot see the bottom of this crisis yet. There is some distance to go, and I would expect this very difficult environment to last for at least another 24 months.’
Walsh also unveiled a new environmental target for BA of halving net carbon dioxide emissions by 2050.
The target, ‘the most ambitious set by any airline’, means BA will reduce its net carbon output from 16m tonnes in 2005 to 8m by the middle of the century.
Walsh said: ‘Some people say that in economic times as desperately tough as these, we can afford to put climate change issues on one side. I could not disagree more.
‘Halving net CO2 by 2050 is an extremely challenging target. But it is one I am sure we can achieve.
‘We will make progress through investment in cleaner aircraft, use of alternative fuels, more efficient flight routings and the spread of emissions trading from Europe to the whole world.
‘We have taken climate change issues very seriously for a long time. More than a decade ago, we became the first airline to publish fuel efficiency targets – and we have achieved an improvement since then of almost 30%.
‘We are the only airline to have experience of emissions trading, and we have helped fund research into lower-carbon aviation fuels. We are currently working closely with Rolls-Royce to develop alternative fuel opportunities.’
BA launched a scientific test programme with engine manufacturer Rolls-Royce to find practical alternatives to kerosene last July.
Results of the programme, which involved testing fuel samples on a Rolls-Royce engine from a BA Boeing 747, are expected in March.
See also:
BA premium traffic drops 10.8% (03/12/08)
Airlines commit to biofuel development (25/09/08)
BA aims to unveil alternative fuel by March (14/07/08)
Opinion formers claim BA guilty of greenwash (16/04/08)
BA highlights T5’s green credentials (25/03/08)
BA launches three-pronged green scheme (15/01/08)