British Airways owner IAG returns to profit for first time since pandemic
The owner of British Airways has returned to profit for the first time since the start of the pandemic, but warned of the “acute” challenges of scaling up operations particularly at London’s Heathrow airport. IAG said bookings showed “sustained strength and north Atlantic demand [continued] to grow following the lifting of the US [coronavirus] testing requirements”. In results on Friday, it reported an operating profit of E293mn in Q2, compared with a loss of E967mn in the same period last year. Its first half operating loss before exceptional items fell to E467mn, from a loss of E2.18b in the same period of 2021. “In the second quarter we returned to profit for the first time since the start of the pandemic, following a strong recovery in demand across all our airlines,” said chief executive Luis Gallego. “This result supports our outlook for a full-year operating profit.” He added that the industry continued to face “historic challenges due to the unprecedented scaling up in operations, especially in the UK where the operational challenges of Heathrow airport have been acute”. “We will continue working with the industry to address these issues as aviation emerges from its biggest crisis ever,” Gallego said. British Airways — typically IAG’s profit engine — has suffered severe disruption so far this summer. IAG said the “challenging operational environment” at Heathrow reduced British Airways’ capacity to 69.1% in Q2, an improvement on the 57.4% capacity achieved in the previous three months. BA has been forced to cancel about 30,000 flights or 13 per cent of its schedule. However, it swung to an operating profit of GBP54m in the three months to June, it’s first since 2019.<br/>
https://portal.staralliance.com/cms/news/hot-topics/2022-08-01/sky/british-airways-owner-iag-returns-to-profit-for-first-time-since-pandemic
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British Airways owner IAG returns to profit for first time since pandemic
The owner of British Airways has returned to profit for the first time since the start of the pandemic, but warned of the “acute” challenges of scaling up operations particularly at London’s Heathrow airport. IAG said bookings showed “sustained strength and north Atlantic demand [continued] to grow following the lifting of the US [coronavirus] testing requirements”. In results on Friday, it reported an operating profit of E293mn in Q2, compared with a loss of E967mn in the same period last year. Its first half operating loss before exceptional items fell to E467mn, from a loss of E2.18b in the same period of 2021. “In the second quarter we returned to profit for the first time since the start of the pandemic, following a strong recovery in demand across all our airlines,” said chief executive Luis Gallego. “This result supports our outlook for a full-year operating profit.” He added that the industry continued to face “historic challenges due to the unprecedented scaling up in operations, especially in the UK where the operational challenges of Heathrow airport have been acute”. “We will continue working with the industry to address these issues as aviation emerges from its biggest crisis ever,” Gallego said. British Airways — typically IAG’s profit engine — has suffered severe disruption so far this summer. IAG said the “challenging operational environment” at Heathrow reduced British Airways’ capacity to 69.1% in Q2, an improvement on the 57.4% capacity achieved in the previous three months. BA has been forced to cancel about 30,000 flights or 13 per cent of its schedule. However, it swung to an operating profit of GBP54m in the three months to June, it’s first since 2019.<br/>
