BA on course to land in Footsie

BRITISH Airways is on course to land in the prestigious FTSE 100 again. The Footsie Equity Indices Committee is expected to wave it in at its quarterly review meeting on Wednesday.

After Friday's 1p gain to 200 1/4p, BA is now the UK's 87th biggest company, with a market value of £2.2bn.

Only six weeks ago, it wouldn't have stood a chance of returning to the premier league.

Its shares were languishing around 160p after being hit in quick succession by Sars, the Iraq war and July's wildcat strike by counter staff, which cost an estimated £40m and did untold damage to its reputation.

BA last week reported August traffic figures with revenues per passenger mile, the key measure for the industry, up 4.8%.

Analysts believe it essential that chief executive Rod Eddington continues to make significant cost savings to preserve its long-term future. Tracker funds will be boarding BA again, albeit a trifle uneasily.

It has been in and out of the Footsie over the past year or so. Demoted in September 2002, promoted in December and then relegated again in March. It now needs to fly a steady course.

A cheer should also ring out at the Reading headquarters of Yell, the telephone directory company that floated at 285p in July.

Now trading at 314p and with a market capitalisation of £2.2bn, it automatically makes the big step into the big time. Support services group Hays should make a swift return after its surprise exit in June.

Disposals have been the name of the game since last October's disastrous profits warning. Rumours are currently rife that Platinum Equity, a US private equity group, is favourite to buy Hays' logistics business. Its sale would leave Hays with just its mail and express division to sell.

With major shareholders of Royal & SunAlliance already up in arms over its proposed £960m deeply discounted rights issue - at 70p compared with Friday's close of 128p - they will receive a further kick in the teeth when the insurer loses its place. It returned only in June after being kicked out in March.

Mitchells & Butler, created in April when Six Continents split its pub group from its hotels, and utility group Kelda also face the chop.