Hope springs eternal. Faced with the prospect of rising fuel costs and economic slowdown, British Airways jettisoned its long-held 10 per cent operating margin target for the coming year at Thursday’s investor day. But it said it still had a longer-term target of 8-12 per cent over the next three years, implying a relatively rapid bounce back.

Worries about the airline’s resilience in the face of these twin woes are nothing new – its share price has halved in the last year – but Thursday’s 8 per cent slide in its share price suggests investors were still not fully prepared for the bleaker environment ahead.