Originally Posted by
funkydrummer
User Dave_C claimed more-or-less the opposite a few posts up.
I think the truth is somewhere in the middle. The Euro carriers have brought profitability of short-haul up a bit. It's nowhere near the profitability of, say, US domestic. (Europe hasn't seen the kind of consolidation as the US, but that's another topic.)
Most likely, few of BA's short haul routes earn the ROI which IAG desires to attain overall. Short haul isn't the total cost center it used to be ten years ago anymore. Better load factors (until early this year) have contributed to that. But it's stil sort of a hybrid cost model. BA would have fewer short-haul routes if there wasn't that feeder aspect towards high-margin long-haul traffic.
I would love to see the figures for short haul routes and see which ones are the most profitable and how many are loss making.
They have really turned the short haul program around though over the last decade.
They have diversified and launched many new leisure routes at weekends. This has not only filled the planes during dips in business traffic but actually produced some really good profits! I doubt any of the summer low frequency routes are loss making because BA are quick to drop them if they are, plus they can easily revert the plane back to its old business route.
They have scrapped catering in ET and would have got a healthy profit from ancillary revenue over the last few years. By densifying the planes they have been able to sell more seats and reduce costs per head.