Europe’s third largest airline British Airways has said revenue may drop by a further £1 billion if the decline in sales continues as it did in the first quarter of this year.

“There is no quick fix in sight for us,” Chief Financial Officer Keith Williams said in the carrier’s weekly staff newsletter. “It is likely that recovery in the U.K. and the U.S. will take some time.”

In the first quarter, sales dropped by 12 percent to £1.98 billion as traffic also dropped by 3.2 percent.  The airline has postponed the delivery of new aircraft, stopped serving meals on short-haul flights and plans to eliminate up to 4,000 jobs to reduce costs.

The airlines yield, a measure of revenue per passenger, are most likely to be better off than other carriers based on industry figures, Chief Executive Officer Willie Walsh said in the newsletter.  First and business class seats, the most profitable, fell by about 41 percent worldwide in the second quarter, the International Air Transport Association said on August 18.

Williams said the airline’s recovery would most likely lag behind the rest of the industry as the company needs more cash to see it through the downturn.

Walsh said last month that the company had raised $1 billion in funds to improve cash reserves.

Thanks to Bloomberg for the above quotes and figures.  For more information on this article visit their website.