Bleak new year omens for a beleaguered industry
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For the travel industry, the New Year omens of 2004 look even more bleak than those of a year ago. Last January, the prospect of war in Iraq depressed the market; but this year has begun with a mixture of tragedy and farce.
The new year broke with news of a road accident in South Africa that claimed the lives of eight Britons. On the same day, British Airways was ordered to cancel flight BA223 from London to Washington, an act repeated the following day. And yesterday, the first air crash of 2004 claimed over 100 French tourists.
So precarious are the economics of travel that it would take only a small proportion of customers to threaten many businesses.
"British Airways is operating a normal schedule" - so BA's website has insisted since New Year's Eve. But there is nothing normal about the way three of its flights have been cancelled on government instructions, while another, BA223, was quarantined upon arrival at Washington's Dulles airport. The immediate financial hit as a result of the disruption between London, Washington and Riyadh represents small change for the airline, but BA's chief executive, Rod Eddington, will be much more worried about the long-term consequences.
BA has a formidable reputation for safety and reliability. But if any airline is ordered to cancel flights day after day because of security scares, passengers may soon start switching to other carriers.
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