IAG Group Posts Record Q2 Profits

DALLAS - International Airlines Group (IAG) has posted an operating profit before exceptions items of €1.25bn (US$1.3bn) for Q2 2023. The record numbers are more than four times the €295m (US$324m) for Q2 2022.

The airline group, which consists of Aer Lingus (EI), British Airways (BA), Iberia (IB), Vueling (VY) and LEVEL (IB), said that the profit was boosted by IB’s record performance of €307m (US$337m). However, the group added that all companies across the group had seen “a strong performance.” It also noted that it had seen a string recovery in leisure traffic and that its premium leisure segment “continued to perform very well.”

Revenue reached €7.7bn (US$8.4bn), up from €5.9bn (US$6.4bn) in 2023. Fares were up around 9.5%, while fuel prices increased by 5.7%. It also added that its net debt had fallen to €7.6bn (US$8.3bn) from €10.4bn (US$11.4bn) at the beginning of the year.

Comments

IAG chief executive Luis Gallego said, “Our strong profits since the start of the year are helping to fund investment for our customers, and to improve our balance sheet by reducing debt. We are aiming to be back to pre-pandemic capacity at the end of this year.

“These results are thanks to a strong performance from all companies across the group, and we would like to thank our teams for their hard work during the year so far. Customer demand remains strong across the group, particularly for leisure travel, with around 80% of passenger revenue for the third quarter already booked. And our airlines have put in place plans to support operations during the busy summer period.”

Cargo Results

The group also delivered its H1 2023 cargo revenues which stood at €603m (US$662.9m), up 8.5% from 2019. Yields for H1 were down from H1 2022, while tonnage was up 6.5%. IAG Cargo was created following the merger of British Airways World ACrgo and Iberia Cargo in 2011.

David Shepherd, Chief Executive Officer of IAG Cargo, said, “While the operating environment has changed significantly in recent months, and the air cargo industry normalises following the pandemic, our primary efforts in the first half of the year have been dedicated to implementing essential transformation. This has included investing in our facilities, operations, and senior leadership team to ensure that we are in a strong position to adapt to the changing market. As well as opening our New Premia operation at Heathrow, we have focused on improving operational processes to make better use of our capacity.

“We’ve been focused on how we can increase efficiency as a business whilst better serving both our customers and colleagues. We are already benefitting from the actions we are taking, all with the goal of cultivating a great place to work and building long-term customer loyalty. As a business we remain well positioned to serve the industry that keeps the world’s economy moving.”

https://airwaysmag.com/ba-to-add-six-more-boeing-787-10s/

Featured Image: EC-LLE Iberia Express Airbus A320. Photo: Adrian Nowakowski/Airways.