Pérdidas récord en British Airways
BA's record losses
British Airways has announced record annual losses of more than $600 million, its worst performance since it was privatised in 1987. BA's chief executive says he sees 'no signs of recovery anywhere'.
Reporter: Alex Ritson
<link type="page"><caption> Listen to the story</caption><url href="http://http-ws.bbc.co.uk.edgesuite.net/mp3/learningenglish/2009/05/words_in_the_news_22_may_2009_au_bb.mp3" platform="highweb"/></link>
The figures from British Airways were expected to be bad - but not this bad. They are also in sharp contrast to the airline's performance last year when it made more than a billion dollars in profit.
The airline is blaming two factors: firstly, the cost of fuel which was at near record high at this time last year, and secondly, the credit crunch which is affecting many airlines.
Even more ominous are the comments from BA's chief executive, Willie Walsh. He says this is the harshest trading environment the company has ever faced and he can see no reasons for things to improve in the near future.
Alex Ritson, BBC News
<link type="page"><caption> Listen to the words</caption><url href="http://http-ws.bbc.co.uk.edgesuite.net/mp3/learningenglish/2009/05/words_in_the_news_vocab_22_may_2009_au_bb.mp3" platform="highweb"/></link>
the figures from las cifras de
in sharp contrast to muy distintas de
performance en este caso, la efectividad de la empresa (de generar ganancias)
profit ganancias
at near record high (el costo) más alto
ominous en este caso, los comentarios no auguran nada bueno
the harshest trading environment la situación económica más difícil para negocios
faced ha tenido que enfrentar
