LONDON - After five years of retrenchment and crisis management, British Airways PLC (BAB) is again concentrating on wooing passengers, Wednesday's Wall Street Journal reported.

The world's largest international airline by traffic, BA has been aggressively cutting costs since before the sector's struggles following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 . But cost cutting is no longer coming as easily as it had, and some industry observers ask whether the carrier has cut too far. Meanwhile, competition is heating up on its key long-haul routes, with foreign carriers -- including U.S.-based UAL Corp.'s United Airlines, Air France-KLM and Dubai-based Emirates Group -- looking to boost their presence in those markets.

Now, in a new two-year business plan that Chief Executive Rod Eddington unveiled to BA staff Tuesday, the carrier is placing renewed emphasis on building its brand and improving service for fliers. BA hopes the enhanced amenities will help it maintain a competitive edge -- especially with high- paying business- and first-class passengers -- as U.S. rivals compete mainly by slashing fares.

As part of its new plan, BA expects to improve its long-haul first- and business-class offerings, both of which were the first to offer fully flat bed- seats. BA is also looking at improving offerings on its European short-haul network. In addition, the airline plans to consolidate its operations in London's Heathrow Airport to become more efficient and to improve passengers' experiences there. Expenditures for these efforts haven't yet been set.

Wall Street Journal Staff Reporter Daniel Michaels contributed to this report. Dow Jones Newswires 03-02-05 0028ET Copyright (C) 2005 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.