British Airways owner International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (LSE:IAG) was under pressure after US partner American Airlines slashed its revenue forecasts and said its chief commercial officer had left.
AA and British Airways are part of a transatlantic joint venture though the reports suggested the US airline’s problems might be company-specific and related to an ongoing row with travel agents over its online bookings policy.
The US carrier now expects unit revenues to fall by as much as 6% in the second quarter compared to a year ago or double its previous forecast.
Adjusted earnings estimates for the second quarter have also been lowered to $1 to $1.15 a share, down from a prior target of $1.15 to $1.45.
Other US transatlantic carriers such as Delta and United Airlines have left forecasts unchanged recently, suggesting that the ticketing issue might be causing a significant impact.
AA chief executive Robert Isom is expected to explain the thinking behind sending bookings to its own platform instead of third-party channels and agencies at a conference on Wednesday.
Isom has previously admitted that the carrier might have to "make changes" to the policy with some corporate fliers reportedly unhappy and switching to rivals such as Delta and UA.
In April, he said it was “quite likely” that its competitors received some benefit from the changes it had made.
Separately, AA confirmed that chef commercial officer Vasu Raja had left the company less than two years into his role.
In earlier jobs at the airline, he was chief revenue officer and in charge of the airline’s network and alliances departments.
Shares in IAG were down 2.8% at 168.7p, while American Airlines shares slumped 6% overnight to US$12.60.