BA owner offers landing slots as collateral to secure $1.8bn funding

BA owner IAG has offered some of its lucrative “crown jewel” landing slots at London’s airports as collateral for the first time to secure $1.8b in new funding to fortify its finances. Rising coronavirus cases in continental Europe have dented expectations that mass travel will be able to restart in time for the peak summer holiday season, which airlines are relying on to boost their battered finances. The facility will be available to three of IAG’s stable of airlines, Aer Lingus, BA and Iberia, and be secured against aircraft assets and take-off and landing rights at both London Heathrow and Gatwick airports. “Putting up aircraft is normal [as collateral], but slots are the crown jewels and don’t tend to be part of financing,” said Mark Simpson, an aviation analyst at Goodbody. “There is access to funding, there is appetite to support that, but having to put up slots is indicative the demand to fund IAG looks to be a bit tougher than some of their competitors.” IAG has avoided putting its lucrative slots at the UK’s leading airports up as collateral, although other airlines including Virgin Atlantic, Delta and Norwegian have done so. IAG considered a bond backed by its slots at Heathrow in 2012, but dropped the plan.<br/>