British Airways could miss out from vaccine airlift, analysts warn

British Airways risks being a bit-part player in the race to distribute Covid vaccines compared with German and French airlines, analysts have warned. Experts say Lufthansa and Air France KLM have bigger cargo operations, meaning they will play a leading role in transporting the vaccine around the world. Airlines have been handed lucrative contracts to carry PPE and other supplies during the pandemic. This has led to record cargo revenues, providing a rare glimmer of hope in what has been the industry’s biggest-ever crisis. Cargo operations at IAG, the FTSE 100 group behind BA, Iberia and Aer Lingus, are dwarfed by flag carriers on the Continent. Lufthansa and Air France KLM have posted cargo revenues of E1.9b and E1.7b respectively in the first nine months of 2020, compared with E1b generated by IAG. And with countries dependent on airlines to transport vaccines in 2021, this gap is set to grow. Analysts from HSBC estimated Lufthansa will book E3.4b of cargo sales and Air France KLM E3.2b - more than double the E1.5b IAG is expected to take. Qatar Airways, Emirates and Cathay Pacific have even larger cargo operations alongside specialists such as Fedex and UPS.<br/>