British Airways : BA: BAW :

BA has 12 A380s on order but says it has "extended" the arrival schedule for the first six by an average of five months.
It says, however, that the first A380 is still expected to arrive in spring 2012, ahead of the London Olympic Games.
But the delivery of the final six has been extended by two years, on average, until autumn 2016.
The carrier had originally been expecting to take delivery of four aircraft per year and complete the introduction of all 12 by autumn 2014.

is pressing [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] Co. to renegotiate installment payments on 787 Dreamliners the carrier has ordered -- a money-saving effort that highlights a new headache for airlines and plane makers amid the credit crunch and plunging air traffic.
BA Chief Executive Willie Walsh said in an interview in London he is seeking to delay cash payments that all airlines make to Boeing and its European rival Airbus as new planes are being built.
These so-called predelivery payments can total tens of millions of dollars per jetliner and have become very difficult for airlines to bankroll in the financial crisis, industry officials say. That, in turn, squeezes plane makers, who rely on the payments to fund jetliner production.
The move is the latest in a series of setbacks for Boeing. Its 787 Dreamliner was originally supposed to enter service in May 2008 but is now running more than two years late after a series of supply and production glitches.
On Wednesday, contractor Crane Co. said new software for the plane's braking system has yet to be completed amid a disagreement over who should pay for the work. Also Wednesday, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services cut Boeing's credit ratings a notch, noting its concern about the possibility of further production cuts due to airline order deferrals and cancellations.
Airbus is also struggling to deliver A380s. The program is running more than two years behind schedule and is billions of dollars over budget.
For up to two years before a plane's delivery, airlines make installment payments that can cover more than 30% of a plane's catalog price. Airbus, a unit of [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] Co., and Boeing use this money to buy components and pay factory workers.
A Boeing spokesman declined to discuss ongoing negotiations with BA, which ordered 24 Dreamliners in 2007. The Dreamliners have a catalog price of about $180 million each, which would imply total prepayments of about $60 million per airliner, although airlines often negotiate lower total prices. The jets for BA are expected to be delivered over a number of years, and only some of these might be affected by negotiations over prepayments.
Traditionally, short-term bank loans to airlines covering the amount would be paid off at an airplane's delivery. But many banks that had long offered special loans to cover predelivery payments recently stopped doing so, which has forced airlines to shoulder the expense from cash flow.
The shift comes as airline revenue is nose-diving and carriers' cash reserves are shrinking.
"Having to fund PDPs out of working capital is putting pressure on airlines' cash flow -- it's not easy," Marlin Dailey, Boeing Vice President of sales, said in an interview.
The new financing pressures come as many airlines are also asking Boeing and Airbus to delay airplane deliveries. BA earlier this month agreed with Airbus to reschedule delivery of 12 A380 superjumbos the airline ordered in 2007 and adjust predelivery payments. The A380 has a list price of about $300 million.
The companies gave no financial details of the deal, but bankers familiar with predelivery funding say those talks normally focus on reducing or delaying payments. Bankers say the BA-Airbus negotiations likely affect six of the 12 planes on order, the prepayments for which would be about $600 million.
"I'm pleased we reached agreement with Airbus on PDPs and rescheduling," Mr. Walsh said. "We continue discussions with Boeing."
Bankers say problems with financing pre-delivery payments most directly hit small airlines and carriers that have ordered the Dreamliner and the Airbus superjumbo. Both are new models that are behind schedule. Resulting uncertainty has made many bankers balk at funding the payments.
"You don't finance PDPs when you don't know when the plane will be delivered," said Bertrand Grabowski, a managing director at German DVB Bank SE in London. Mr. Grabowski said the bank has cut back on its predelivery financing.
Arranging predelivery financing for the latest models is also difficult because their resale values haven't yet been established.
"Because the 787 is so new and doesn't have a market price, it will be hard to do," said Christian McCormick, chief executive of transport financing at French bank [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] SA, a major aircraft financier. He said predelivery financing has been difficult for the A380 superjumbo, 16 of which are in service.
Lenders are more willing to finance on delivery because finished jetliners can be repossessed in a bankruptcy and are mobile assets with resale values well established in active used-plane markets.
Banks that once specialized in predelivery payment financing garnered relatively high margins for the business, industry officials say. But many quit the market two years ago amid disputes with Airbus and Boeing over terms of the financing, said Mr. McCormick at Natixis. Most other funders stopped last year when the credit crisis hit.
Predelivery loans have become tricky because they fund unfinished assets. Bankers and plane makers have argued over how to treat the loans if a borrowing airline defaults.
"It's funding for something that hasn't been built yet, so it's tough in this environment" of extreme risk aversion, said Chris Partridge, director of asset financing at [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] AG in London. Mr. Partridge said his group in the past funded PDPs, "but we're doing virtually nothing now."
"It had been easy for airlines to arrange financing, but banks that were in that market withdrew," said John Leahy, chief operating officer at Airbus. Mr. Leahy, Airbus's head of airplane sales, said the shortage of predelivery financing options "is becoming a big issue."

La tourmente dans laquelle se trouve British Airways ne l’empêche pas de fêter les événements importants de son histoire. La compagnie britannique n’a donc pas oublié son quatre-vingt-dixième anniversaire le 25 août.

A cette date en 1919, son ancêtre Air Transport & Travel Ltd réalisait le premier service quotidien international au monde en reliant Londres et Paris. Le vol a été réalisé en 2h30 par un Airco De Havilland 4A, à bord duquel ne se trouvait qu’un seul passager. Il a décollé de l’aérodrome Hounslow Heath et atterri au Bourget.

Pour célébrer l’événement, un pilote de British Airways a reconstitué une partie du vol, dans la campagne du Kent, à bord du plus ancien De Havilland Tiger Moth capable de voler.

L’anniversaire est également fêté de façon moins confidentielle par l’exposition d’un drapeau du Royaume-Uni composé de 126 000 cristaux Swarovski et prêté par le cristallier dans le hall du terminal 5 de Londres Heathrow. Il y sera visible jusqu’en septembre.

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British Airways celebrates 90 years of leading the travel industry, since Transport & Travel Ltd (a precursor to British Airways) launched the world’s first commercial flight which departed from London to Paris on August 25 1919.

Since then, the airline has carried more than 1.2 billion customers on its extensive route network, and become recognised as one of the world’s elite carriers.

Paying tribute to the airline, Prime Minister Gordon Brown said: “British Airways has never lost the pioneering spirit and vision that saw it take to the skies with the world’s first daily international flight from London to Paris on this day in
1919.

“Ninety years on, the world’s most iconic airline is still proudly flying the flag and remains a great British brand. Many congratulations to all its staff - past and present, on this special day.”

British Airways chairman Martin Broughton said: “Over the past nine decades, British Airways has played its part in many historic episodes. We provided the first air links to far-flung capitals in the days of empire, flew Winston Churchill across the Atlantic during wartime, brought Queen Elizabeth back to Britain after the passing of George VI, repeatedly led the way with aircraft innovation and have often proudly transported home our sports teams from success overseas.

“We have a rich history supporting Britain and will carry this forward to our centenary and beyond.”

90 years on from that first Paris flight, British Airways now offers up to nine daily flights to the French capital of fashion and romance, all ideal for a Paris holiday British Airways offers great deals on a wide range of Paris hotels, coupled with affordable fares on flights.

The airline is marking its anniversary in a variety of ways. Swarovski, has loaned a giant bejewelled Union Flag to the airline. The stunning 4ft by 2ft artwork is embossed with more than 126,000 crystallized Swarovski Elements and will be in the British Airways arrivals lounge in Terminal 5 until September.

An internal exhibition will showcase memorabilia from nine decades of travel, while customers in Terminal 5 have been treated to members of the BA cabin crew, along with TV personality Kirsty Gallacher, modelling vintage uniforms in the terminal in the run up to its anniversary week.

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BA is to begin the 'Club World London City' transatlantic flights to JFK on 29 September.
Owing to the short runway length, which creates payload restrictions, the A318 will make a 45min westbound technical stop at Shannon.
But passengers will be able to clear US immigration during the stop, whereupon the aircraft will depart to domestic arrivals at New York. The eastbound return will be non-stop to City.

From The Sunday Times
September 6, 2009

British Airways in talks to land BMI British Midland

British Airways is considering a possible bid for BMI British Midland, in a move that would increase its dominance of flights in and out of Heathrow airport.
Tentative discussions are believed to have taken place between Martin Broughton, BA’s chairman, and BMI’s German owner Lufthansa. Broughton flew to Germany last week with Roger Maynard, BA’s director of investments and alliances.
Virgin Atlantic and Etihad Airways, the United Arab Emirates airline, are also believed to be examining a possible offer. Any deal with Lufthansa is viewed as secondary to BA’s continuing merger talks with Spanish rival Iberia. Broughton is due to fly to Madrid this week.
BA’s finances remain stretched, although the immediate strains on the group’s balance sheet were eased by a recent convertible bond issue and bank debt deal that raised £685m. Industry sources said it may be possible for BA to finance an offer for BMI through a share issue