British Airways cost-cutting literally comes to nothing ….. as the accounts show

IAG, the parent company of British Airways, published its 2017 results on Friday.

The share price fell sharply (5.7%) after the numbers were released.

The most astonishing number is on page 14 – CASK exc fuel for BA.  CASK is ‘costs per available seat kilometre’.

As we know from various BA management pronouncements over the last 18 months, the airline is now 100% focused on cost reduction.  Every British Airways employee, every day, is permanently focused on cutting expenditure.

Vueling cut its CASK by 0.9%.  Aer Lingus cut CASK by an impressive 6.4%.  Iberia couldn’t control costs so well and its CASK went up by 4.8%.

And British Airways?  CASK rose by a whopping 5.4%.  Remember that this excludes fuel, which the airline cannot control.  Heaven knows what would have happened if all BA employees were not 100% focused on cost cutting …..

It is also worth pointing out something interesting on Slide 27.  BA’s ‘Plan4’, which is the catch-all phrase for the various customer-facing changes being made, is listed as a key cost reduction activity.  Not, note, as an ‘investment’.  Whilst the company may be claiming that it is ‘investing’ £400m / £600m or whatever the number is this week in Club World, it is telling the City that this is actually a cost-cutting programme.

How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (December 2021)

As a reminder, there are various ways of earning Avios points from UK credit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses!

There are two official British Airways American Express cards with attractive sign-up bonuses:

British Airways American Express

5,000 Avios for signing up, no annual fee and an Economy 2-4-1 voucher for spending ….. Read our full review

British Airways American Express Premium Plus

25,000 Avios and the UK’s most valuable credit card perk – the 2-4-1 companion voucher Read our full review

You can also get generous sign-up bonuses by applying for American Express cards which earn Membership Rewards points, such as:

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 20,000 points, FREE for a year & two airport lounge passes Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express

30,000 points and an unbeatable set of travel benefits – for a fee Read our full review

Run your own business?

We recommend Capital On Tap for limited companies. You earn 1 Avios per £1 which is impressive for a Visa card, along with a sign-up bonus worth 10,500 Avios:

Capital On Tap Business Rewards Visa

The most generous Avios Visa or Mastercard for a limited company Read our full review

You should also consider the British Airways Accelerating Business credit card. This is open to sole traders as well as limited companies and has a 30,000 Avios sign-up bonus:

British Airways Accelerating Business American Express

30,000 Avios sign-up bonus – plus annual bonuses of up to 30,000 Avios Read our full review

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Avios. This includes both personal and small business cards.

(Want to earn more Avios?  Click here to visit our home page for our latest articles on earning and spending your Avios points and click here to see how to earn more Avios this month from offers and promotions.)