By Guy Taylor
British Airways’ owner the IAG has said it is “well-positioned” for another busy summer, as first-quarter profit jumped sevenfold.
The airline conglomerate, which also owners Aer Lingus, Iberia and Vueling, reported an operating profit of €68m (£58.5m), up from €9m the year prior.
Total revenue reached €6.4bn, up from €5.9bn as the group carried 26.3m passengers, an 8.6 per cent year-on-year increase.
Luis Gallego, IAG Chief Executive Officer, said: “Our transformation initiatives and increased demand, including over the Easter holidays, have delivered another very good set of results with improvements to both revenue and operating profit.
“Our group benefits from the strength of our core markets – North Atlantic, South Atlantic and intra-Europe – and the performance of our brands. Investment across the group in transformation is delivering encouraging improvements in punctuality and customer experience at our airlines.”
The results, which cover the typically quieter months of January to April, come as carriers across the globe continue to benefit from resurgent demand post pandemic.
British Airways in particular has enjoyed the rebound.
Last year, the IAG reported a record annual profit of €3.5bn in the busiest year for the industry since Covid-19 lockdowns grounded fleets.
There had been some concern that demand would slow into 2024 given business travel’s more chequered recovery. Conflict in the Middle East and Ukraine has also restricted airspace and caused a spike in jet fuel costs.
But the IAG’s share price is up over 17 per cent this year to date and rose 3.7 per cent yesterday ahead of the announcement.
European demand drove earnings, with capacity growth rising 9 per cent over the three months. The group conceded the rest of the world, particularly Africa, the Middle East and South Asia, was “more challenging.”
“In particular the conflict in the Middle East has impacted flying by most of our airlines to the region.”
