BA reports first profit for two years

British Airways has reported a half-year profit of £158m, its first in two years, as it prepares to merge with Spain's Iberia airline. The results are better than expected, since BA had to contend with cabin-crew strikes and the Icelandic ash cloud over the last six months.

Its partner in the prospective merger, Iberia, announced a nine month profit of £46m.

BA's results have surpassed the expectations of analysts, who predicted a profit of £75m – less than half what the airline actually made.

The half-year results mark a complete turnaround from the £292m loss that BA made during the same period in 2009.

Read a full report at BBC News. ·