Airlines lend support to keep Britain's FTSE steady

* FTSE 100 flat at 6,714.76

* TUI Travel (LSE: TT.L - news) , easyJet rally after updates

* GlaxoSmithKline (Other OTC: GLAXF - news) lower after restructuring plans

* Ex-divs also weigh on the index

By Alistair Smout

LONDON, Dec 4 (Reuters) - British blue chips held steady early on Thursday, supported by travel and airline stocks after a number of encouraging corporate updates from the sector.

TUI Travel rose 2.9 percent, the top FTSE 100 riser, after it said profit jumped 11 percent, beating forecasts and that the coming tie-up with Germany's TUI AG (Xetra: TUAG00 - news) would accelerate long-term growth.

Airline easyJet rose 2.5 percent, with traders saying sentiment in the travel and leisure sector had been boosted after easyJet and Irish peer Ryanair, which is not in the FTSE 100, both reported higher passenger numbers.

Ryanair was up 7.2 percent at all-time highs after lifting its profit guidance.

"Both easyJet and Ryanair figures paint a similar picture, and in combination with the low oil price, these traffic figures are especially encouraging," Tony Cross, market analyst at Trustnet Direct, said.

The FTSE 350 Travel and Leisure sector was up 0.9 percent, taking its rally since lows on Oct. 16 to over 20 percent as the sector benefits from a lower oil price.

Britain's FTSE 100 was flat in percentage terms at 6,714.76 at 0841 GMT.

The index had fallen 0.4 percent in the previous session. It was still up 10.6 percent from a mid-October low but was 2.8 percent off the year's high of 6,904.86, set on Sept 4.

Taking the most points off the index was GlaxoSmithKline (Swiss: GSK.SW - news) .

The heavyweight pharmaceutical fell 1 percent, enough to trim 2.9 points off the index, after it said it would shed "several hundred" U.S. commercial jobs and a similar number of research positions as it restructures operations in its biggest market, where drug sales are flagging.

Utility Severn Trent was the top faller in percentage terms, down 1.9 percent, as it traded without entitlement to its latest dividend payout, along with Next , London Stock Exchange (Other OTC: LDNXF - news) , Whtibread and Land Securities (LSE: LAND.L - news) . (Editing by Susan Fenton)