BA passenger traffic bounces back

Wildcat strikes cost BA an estimated £40m

Passenger traffic at British Airways has bounced back in September, despite in-flight meal problems it faced in the wake of the Gate Gourmet catering row.

The airline said it carried 3.21 million people on scheduled routes in September, up 2.8% on the year before.

Asia Pacific flights showed the biggest rise at 18.8%, with North and South American traffic 8.1% higher.

Traffic fell 0.7% in August when BA staff went on strike in sympathy with sacked Gate Gourmet workers.

BA was unable to offer normal meals on short-haul flights for more than a month.

I would say we are back to normal. We are pretty happy with the performance George Stinnes, BA See BA's share price

However, last week Gate Gourmet and unions agreed a peace deal which looks likely to end the industrial dispute.

The carrier's load factor, which measures how efficiently it is filling its planes, rose 1.7% to 79.6% in September.

Premium class traffic - first and business class - beat analysts' expectations with a 11.6% increase.

"I would say we are back to normal," said BA's head of investor relations, George Stinnes.

"We are pretty happy with the performance."