BA says annual turnover will be better than expected
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Shares in British Airways rose more than 11% on Wednesday as investors cheered evidence of a revival in the fortunes of the UK's biggest airline.
The shares finished at 269.75 pence - their highest level since the 11 September terrorist attacks in 2001.
BA had on Tuesday said greater demand for long-haul first and business-class tickets meant annual turnover would be better than earlier expected.
The news helped push shares in many of BA's European rivals 5-6% higher.
Traffic to US
Lufthansa soared by 0.91 euros, or 6.82%, to 14.26 euros, on the back of robust December traffic figures from rivals BA and KLM.
The German airline also confirmed it broke even on an operating level in 2003.
And Groupe Air France said December passenger traffic rose 5.4% from the same period a year earlier, boosted by a 12.5 % jump in traffic on routes to the Americas.
Meanwhile UK airports operator BAA added 12.5 pence to its share price, rising to 497.75 pence on the back of the BA increase.
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