BRITISH AIRWAYS TO RAISE RATES, CUT STAFF

   British Airways will raise cargo rates by 15 percent on major routes
from the U.K. to the U.S. and the Far East beginning in October.
   The carrier also said it will begin enforcing more strictly the block
space agreements it has with forwarders and canceling deals with forwarders that do not fill their space agreements.
   BA’s move comes in the wake of other cargo rate increases from major freight carriers, such as Lufthansa Cargo, Air France, Swissair, Northwest Airlines, Cargolux Airlines and Cathay Pacific.
   Separately, U.K. sources have reported that BA plans to cut 1,000 jobs, including 300 management positions, in an effort to cut costs by as much as $350 million next year. BA recently reported an 84 percent drop in first-quarter pretax profit.