British Airways profits soar 45%

British Airways boss, Willie Walsh, will not be taking his bonus this year despite British Airways today announcing a 45% increase in profits, to £883 million. Mr Walsh's decision to forgo his bonus comes in response to the recent Terminal 5 fiasco (reported most recently in 'In the News' on 7 May 2008) in which tens of thousands of passengers lost baggage, queued for hours and missed flights as a result of the airline's staff's inability to operate the new terminal.

British Airways has warned that the company is unlikely to be as successful next year as high oil prices and the fallout from Terminal 5 - predicted to result in a significant fall in passenger numbers - takes its toll.