IAG passes Lufthansa in carrier ranking with Air France in sight

BA parent IAG edged past Lufthansa to become Europe’s second-biggest airline last year, spurred by its acquisition of Ireland’s Aer Lingus as strikes held back the German carrier. Lufthansa’s traffic, a measure of the number of customers carried times the distance flown that’s regarded as an industry standard, gained only 2.7% to 220b revenue passenger kilometres, it said Tuesday. IAG last week posted a 9.6% advance to 222b RPKs. The shift reflects a growth spurt since IAG’s formation in a merger of BA and Spain’s Iberia in 2011 that’s seen the London-based company buy the former British Midland -- from Lufthansa -- as well as Barcelona-based discounter Vueling and most recently the Irish flag-carrier. IAG CE Willie Walsh pushed through thousands of job cuts at Iberia while using Vueling to combat the challenge of low-cost carriers led by Ryanair Holdings. He has also embraced Gulf rivals, inviting Qatar Airways to join the Oneworld alliance in a move that led it to become a 10% investor.<br/>