News / As red ink begins to flood bottom lines, the mega-airlines begin to unravel

© Richard Higgins |

The disintegration of the major airlines has begun. Yesterday, British Airways (BA) announced the likely loss of 12,000 jobs, one quarter of its workforce, as it warned that it would take years to return to 2019 levels of passenger demand.

The carrier announced preliminary results of a first-quarter loss of €535m ($580.5m), after a profit of €135m last year, on revenue down 13% to €4.6bn.

It also pointed to an exceptional charge of €1.3bn, “resulting from the ineffectiveness of fuel and foreign ...