British Airways Heads for Record Quarterly Loss

British Airways is set to post a record loss for its fourth quarter as it continues to battle falling demand and weak sterling, but its shares rose as analysts said the carrier should survive the economic downturn.

The airline said on Friday it had made an operating profit of GBP89 million pounds ($130.2 million) for the first nine months of the year, sharply down from GBP744 million a year ago.

It said in a profit warning last month that it would post a full year operating loss of GBP150 million, meaning the three months to end March would see it drop nearly GBP240 million into the red.

Rival Air France-KLM issued a profit warning last month, but the last of the big three full-service European carriers, Lufthansa, surprised the market earlier in the week by raising its 2008 profit forecast.

Low-cost carriers easyJet and Ryanair have also raised recent forecasts, saying travelers are trading downwards during the recession.