BA posts a record loss

Truly awful trading figures from British Airways today, illustrating the severe competitive issues facing the airline industry…

BA could be a useful case study business for AQA A2 Unit 4 students to consider researching when the research task for Jan 2010 is issued shortly.  There is certainly no shortage of up-to-date information about the business, its competitiors and the market and external environment in which it trades.

Take today’s trading figures. According to the BBC:

“British Airways has announced the biggest loss since the company was privatised in 1987. BA reported a loss before tax of £401m for the year to 31 March, after seeing its results hit by a weak pound and higher fuel costs.”

We learn that BA’s fuel bill was almost £3bn in the last year - a rise of 45% due to higher fuel prices and the weaker pound (aviation fuel is priced in dollars).

BA in particular, and the aviation industry in general, has being going through a period of tremendous change in the last decade.  Students would be well advised to watch business developments in this sector closely.  The market is a terrific source of examples and information about the nature of change in a global industry.

Click on the video below for a brief clip on the latest BA results:

This short interview with BA CEO Willi Walsh is also worth watching:

BUSS4 Emerging Markets : Starbucks’ challenges in China [21 May 2012]
Revision Presentation - Marketing Mix: Introduction to Pricing [17 May 2012]
Revision Presentation - Calculating and Measuring Profit [13 May 2012]
AQA BUSS4 - ‘with reference to *** plc and your own research ....’ [13 May 2012]
BUSS4 - Keep Calm and Carry On… [13 May 2012]
Same product - different prices: Greggs sausage roll costs more in Hammersmith than Hull [9 May 2012]
‘Hooks’ in BUSS4 Essays [5 May 2012]
AQA BUSS2 & BUSS4 Revision Workshops in Spring 2013 [4 May 2012]
AQA BUSS4 Section A Research Online Clinic - Tuesday 1 May 2012 [1 May 2012]
AQA AS Business (BUSS2) - Key Term A to Z Glossary [30 Apr 2012]
BUSS4 - Three Ways to Evaluate Emerging Markets [28 Apr 2012]
Paul Polman (Unilever CEO) on cultural change, leadership, Asia and Corporate Social Responsibility [27 Apr 2012]
6 Essential M&A Cases: BA & Iberia Merge to Form IAG [23 Apr 2012]
BUSS4: 6 Essential M&A Cases [22 Apr 2012]
BUSS4: The Seven Point Scale for Perfect Paragraphs [22 Apr 2012]
Irene Rosenfeld on Leadership, Transformation, and THAT takeover [18 Apr 2012]
Takeovers and Mergers - Cost Synergies in Action at BMI [17 Apr 2012]
Revision Presentation - Mission, Aims, Objectives and Stakeholders [7 Apr 2012]
Essay writing: turn evidence into analysis [4 Apr 2012]
IAG bid for BMI receives approval [3 Apr 2012]
The Ultimate BUSS4 Takeovers and Mergers Crossword 2012 [26 Mar 2012]
BUSS2 and BUSS4 Comes to the Olympics! [25 Mar 2012]
Women & Leadership [22 Mar 2012]
BUSS4 2012 - Keeping in Touch using the #BUSS4 Hashtag [19 Mar 2012]
Takeovers and Mergers - tutor2u Mini Briefs [4 Mar 2012]
Takeovers and Mergers - the BUSS4 Card Game [4 Mar 2012]
AQA A2 Business (BUSS4) Research Theme 2012 [3 Mar 2012]
Barriers to entry for business expansion to Brazil [23 Feb 2012]
AQA BUSS4 CPD Briefing Days in 2012 [16 Feb 2012]
The Strategic Challenges Facing International Airlines Group - Interview with Willie Walsh [14 Feb 2012]
The Leadership Style of Willie Walsh - In Quotes [14 Feb 2012]
BUSS4 Research Theme - Merger and Takeover Egg Heads [10 Feb 2012]
Takeovers in the UK - the long-term trend [5 Feb 2012]
AQA BUSS4 - Research Toolkit for June 2012 & Jan 2013 [2 Feb 2012]
BUSS4 Revision Workshops 2012 - Programme Outline [1 Feb 2012]
BUSS4 2012 - Mergers and Takeovers on the Business Studies Blog [31 Jan 2012]
The Guardian on Takeovers and Mergers [31 Jan 2012]
Post-Easter 2012 Revision Workshops for AQA AS & A2 Business Studies [16 Jan 2012]
Edexcel closes the gap on AQA for GCSE Business as BTEC First powers ahead [18 Dec 2011]
The Rise and Fall and Rise of Gerald Ratner [27 Nov 2011]
International operations decisions - Adidas trainers for $1? [26 Nov 2011]
Cut price cup cake deal goes wrong…... [22 Nov 2011]
AQA BUSS2 & BUSS4 Revision Workshops Spring 2012 [11 Nov 2011]
Promotional Pricing at its Worst [7 Nov 2011]
Unilever hit by rising costs [6 Nov 2011]
Consolidation on the cards as IAG claims deal to acquire BMI [6 Nov 2011]
How PepsiCo are trying to control diseconomies of scale [18 Oct 2011]
Revision Quiz - Costs, Revenues and Profits [12 Oct 2011]
Revision Quiz - Business Costs [12 Oct 2011]
CSR - 40 Years of Upsetting Big Business [15 Sep 2011]
BUSS2 May 2011 - Ofqual assurance on exam results [8 Aug 2011]
Where there’s muck there’s brass [6 Jul 2011]
Evan Davis ‘Made in Britain’ - and a new trade data tool to play with [21 Jun 2011]
AQA A2 Business (BUSS4) - Exam Topic Tracker [16 Jun 2011]
The scandal of AQA BUSS2 - Update again, a response from AQA [9 Jun 2011]
What makes Ferguson great? [27 May 2011]
An end to outsourcing? [18 May 2011]
AQA BUSS4 CSR Briefing - Review Copies Available [9 May 2011]
Your suggestions for new Business Studies resources & training [9 May 2011]
Using Chucklevision to Teach Business [8 May 2011]
AQA AS Business (BUSS2) - Specification Resource Map [22 Apr 2011]
AQA A2 Business (BUSS4) - Specification Resource Map [22 Apr 2011]
CSR - A responsible company from day one? [21 Apr 2011]
Developing Exam Skills - BUSS2 [19 Apr 2011]
Is the role of inflation over inflated? [30 Mar 2011]
AQA unit 4 - some really good evidence here [29 Mar 2011]
Leadership Resource - Every Little Helps [16 Mar 2011]
BUSS4 - Research Theme for 2011 - CSR [26 Feb 2011]
BUSS4 Section A Research Briefing Days - 2011 Research Task [22 Feb 2011]
BUSS4 2011 - Introducing the tutor2u Twelve [20 Feb 2011]
BUSS4 Research - “Beyond e.g.” [18 Feb 2011]
Revision games - Marketing Basics (True / False) [16 Feb 2011]
Michael Porter - Shared Value and the Limitations of CSR [15 Feb 2011]
CSR - Avoiding the child labour hotspots [15 Feb 2011]
British exports - what does the government do to help? [10 Feb 2011]
The Year of Corporate Philanthropy [31 Jan 2011]
Emerging Markets Video - The perfect plenary [29 Jan 2011]
Globalisation Video - The perfect plenary [26 Jan 2011]
An idea that’s a lot of hot air…. [11 Jan 2011]
Q&A - Distinguish between price and cost [2 Jan 2011]
Q&A - Should a business use a “loss leader” as part of its pricing tactics? [31 Dec 2010]
Business Pricing Tactics Under Scrutiny [12 Dec 2010]
Dominos Pizza - Growth & Strategy (Part 3) - Smart Marketing [26 Nov 2010]
Dominos Pizza - Growth & Strategy (Part 2) - Innovation, Service and Smart Operations [26 Nov 2010]
Segmentation & Pricing - the Ice-Cream Price Pyramid [17 Nov 2010]
Cash flow Clue-doh! The Mystery is Revealed… [2 Nov 2010]
Leadership in action - A Day in the Life of Willie Walsh [25 Oct 2010]
Profits up at Amazon - but so are costs [22 Oct 2010]
Making the FT Brand Sweat! [19 Oct 2010]
Insights from an Entrepreneur - Fraser Doherty (SuperJam) [10 Oct 2010]
Rationalising & Redeployment at Alliance Boots [9 Oct 2010]
The business cost of labour turnover [7 Oct 2010]
AQA BUSS4 Student Research - How Was it for You in Summer 2010? [29 Sep 2010]
The Business Scrapbook [25 Sep 2010]
Pricing Strategy - Mobile Data Networks [14 Sep 2010]
Would you stand for it? [14 Sep 2010]
Inflation and profit margins - lessons from the market [27 Aug 2010]
Starter Activity - AQA GCSE Unit 2, Growing as a Business [27 Jul 2010]
Lessons from the business model of King & Allen [13 Jul 2010]
Lesson Activity - Market Research Cloze Exercise (1) [13 Jul 2010]

BUSINESS TEACHER RESOURCE NEWSLETTER
Get first news of business teaching resources, ideas and other materials from tutor2u. Over 9,400 business teachers from the UK and around the world receive our regular teacher email newsletters. Sign up for free here!