UK airline British Airways could lose its FTSE 100 status in the latest review, following a year of dwindling profits and share price.

The next quarterly review of shares will take place this week, based on the closing price of shares on Tuesday.

BA chief executive Rod Eddington told the BBC on Sunday that he would "wait and see what Tuesday brings", but admitted the industry as a whole was still struggling after the events of September 11.

Mr Eddington said a war on Iraq would be another "major issue for all airlines".

BA's shares are one of three being tipped to fall out of the 100 index this time.

Year of descents

Mr Eddington said even before the threat of a war on Iraq, demand among a number of major airline companies remained "soft".

No company that's in the Footsie wants to come out of it

Rod Eddington, chief executive British Airways

He said this was not just because of travellers' apprehension but also because a number of companies were also struggling and therefore spending less on business travel.

British Airways has also had to compete with the cheaper "no-frills" airlines such as Easyjet and Ryanair, who are winning over customers.

In May, BA reported a loss of �200m. This was its first full-year loss since the company was privatised 15 years ago.

BA's shares have also slumped. A year ago they stood at 270p, but closed on Monday at just 131.75p.

Mr Eddington said times are tough

Relegation table

British Airways is one of three companies which could fall from the FTSE 100 to the FTSE 250 when the indices are reshuffled.

They are reviewed every three months to ensure they give an accurate measure of market activity.

A stock is inserted into the FTSE 100 index if it ranks in the top 90 at the close of business on the last day of trading before the review - in this case Tuesday.

Similarly, a stock is relegated from the FTSE 100 if it ranks 111th or lower.

Music group EMI and electricity generator International Power are also possible candidates for relegation.

Mr Eddington told the BBC: "No company that's in the Footsie wants to come out of it".

But he remained confident that even if BA did fall out of the index, it would soon return.