British Airways traffic falls 4% in December due to weather and strike threat

British Airways (LSE: BAY) reported a 4.2% year on year decline in passenger capacity, while traffic as measured in revenue passenger kilometres was down 4% due to the cold weather and a strike threat that came from the employees of the airline early in December 2009.
The traffic decrease comprised a 0.7% decline in premium traffic and a 4.6% slide in non-premium traffic. Despite the unfavourable weather conditions, 98% of flights operated.
Load factor increased 0.1% points to 76.8%, while cargo as measured in cargo tonne kilometres increased by 7.2%.
The Unite trade union threatened a strike during Christmas in response to the airline’s staff cuts conducted in November, when the number of cabin crew on long-haul flights was reduced from between 15 and 16 to 14.  http://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/11893/british-airways-traffic-falls-4-in-december-due-to-weather-and-strike-threat-11893.html