THERE was speculation today that British Airways will cut routes by nearly per cent to help combat soaring fuel bills.

The axe will fall on dozens of the carrier's short-haul routes in Europe this winter, reports said, as bosses battle to slash costs.

Long-haul routes are expected to be spared when the airline announces its winter schedule on August 1.

BA said in May its fuel bill could soar by £1bn this year if oil prices remained at 120 US dollars a barrel. Crude has since risen even higher, topping 147 US dollars earlier this month.

The airline uses about six million tonnes of jet fuel each year and every one dollar rise in the oil price cuts the company's profits by about £16m.

Last week BA's chief executive Willie Walsh told shareholders he was "reviewing our mainline flying programme to see where it is prudent to reduce capacity in the current economic climate".

A number of US airlines including United Airlines and Continental have made substantial capacity cuts this year. as fuel prices have risen.