British Airways under pressure to improve as cancellations soar

British Airways is under pressure to improve its operations as the summer travel rush begins, after a difficult year which has seen its rate of cancellations soar above its rivals. The airline has cancelled 4,033 flights from UK airports over the past year, nearly double that of low-cost rival easyJet, according to data from aviation analytics company Cirium. That equated to 2.3% of its flights from the UK, well above the industry average of 1.4%. “BA is still suffering from years of cost cutting,” said Chris Tarry, an aviation industry consultant. “In my view BA still has a long way to go, and once you lose a customer it takes a long time to win them back”. The figures expose how BA’s creaking technology, operational complexity and exposure to London’s Heathrow airport, which operates at full capacity, have combined to leave the airline under pressure as millions of travellers prepare for the summer holidays. The problems were epitomised in late June when a “temporary technical fault” with BA’s baggage systems, the latest in a long line of glitches at the airline, caused sweeping disruption to passengers with some planes delayed, others taking off without luggage and many left waiting hours for their bags. “Undoubtedly the operation is BA’s Achilles heel. They are a premium airline and historically it was an airline which had exemplary reliability,” said John Strickland, an aviation consultant and former BA executive. The target for cancelled flights should be 1% or lower, he added. BA is by no means alone in suffering from a myriad of issues, including serious delays and cancellations caused by air traffic control problems. Wizz Air was forced to pare back its schedules dramatically because of engine troubles on many of its aircraft, while Germany’s Lufthansa has suffered sweeping disruption because of strikes.<br/>