Despite ongoing air travel disruption, International Airlines Group, the owner of British Airways, has seen sales surpass pre-Covid levels.
The Anglo-Spanish airline company, which also owns Iberia and Aer Lingus, reported revenues of €7.3billion (£6.3billion) for the three months ending in September, an increase of 0.9% compared to the same time three years earlier and more than double the amount it made during the same period last year.
This was accomplished even though passenger capacity was only 81% of 2019 levels, due in part to London Heathrow Airport setting a daily passenger cap of 100,000 over the summer and to interruptions in Europe and the United States.
Heathrow, Europe’s busiest airport, was unable to handle a sudden surge of customers due to a lack of staff. As a result, many passengers endured long lines, delays, or aircraft cancellations before the cap was implemented.
During the summer, problems also plagued other major European airports.
IAG’s business was also impacted by travel restrictions in the Asia-Pacific area, where lockdowns tend to be more severe, particularly in China.
However, all of the company’s airlines achieved profitability, as premium leisure travel returned to pre-pandemic levels as consumers traveled to Europe, the Americas, and the Caribbean on vacation.
Friday’s late afternoon trading session saw International Airlines Group shares decline 3.4% to 115.5p. Their value has decreased by approximately 16% so far in 2022.
IAG, which is listed on the FTSE 100, reversed its third-quarter loss of €574 million to a profit of €853 million this time around.
Based on current gasoline costs and exchange rates, it anticipates a profit of approximately €1.1 billion for this year.
Luis Gallego, chief executive officer of IAG, praised the company’s “excellent performance,” but he cautioned: “While demand remains high, we are cognizant of the uncertainties in the economic future and the continued constraints on consumers.”
We are concentrating on modifying our operations to meet demand, fortifying our balance sheet by rebuilding our profitability and cashflows, and capitalizing on our strong level of liquidity in light of this situation.
Heathrow’s decision to terminate passenger capacity constraints on Sunday, having originally planned to do so last month before prolonging the measure owing to staff shortages, should increase.
However, the airport cautioned Tuesday that capacity controls may be reinstated during the holiday season to avoid passenger disruptions.
It stated, “We are working with airlines to agree on a highly targeted mechanism that, if necessary, would synchronize supply and demand on a handful of peak days leading up to Christmas.”
In addition, present inflationary pressures arising mostly from increasing oil prices, Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and a stronger dollar indicate that many consumers may delay an international trip.
The head of stock research at Hargreaves Lansdown, Derren Nathan, stated, “As the cost-of-living crisis worsens in many major economies, holidays are likely to fall down the essentials list, so we are concerned about next year.”
