International Consolidated Airlines Group (IAG) announced on Friday that it anticipates its capacity to return to pre-pandemic levels by the end of this year. The company reported a significant shift to net profit for the first half of the year, citing robust customer demand and the exceptional performance of its Spanish business.
IAG, the parent company of British Airways, Iberia, and Vueling, among others, stated that customer demand across all its subsidiaries remains robust, particularly in the leisure travel segment. This has compensated for the slower recovery seen in the corporate market.
Encouragingly, IAG revealed that approximately 80% of its expected revenue for the third quarter has already been booked, signaling strong summer demand.
For the six months ending on June 30, IAG achieved a net profit of €921 million ($1.01 billion), a significant improvement compared to the net loss of €654 million suffered during the same period last year. Furthermore, adjusting for exceptional and one-off items, the company reported an operating profit of €1.26 billion for the period, in stark contrast to the €446 million loss recorded a year earlier.
Iberia and Vueling delivered stellar performances during this period, with their adjusted operating profits surpassing the levels achieved in 2019.
Iberia’s Strong Performance in H1 2022
Iberia, the renowned airline company, has announced its impressive financial performance for the first half of 2022. During this period, Iberia’s adjusted operating profit reached an outstanding EUR372 million, a significant improvement compared to EUR117 million in the first half of 2019. This remarkable growth can also be observed when comparing it with the meager EUR2 million recorded in the first half of this year.
The company attributes Iberia’s strong revenue to the exceptionally high demand witnessed in the north and south Atlantic regions. As a result, the airline is strategically expanding its capacity from Madrid in order to meet this overwhelming demand.
In addition to Iberia’s flourishing performance, low-cost carrier Vueling also reported impressive results. Vueling’s adjusted operating profit significantly increased to EUR96 million, surging past the EUR5 million figure from the first half of 2019. Moreover, Vueling successfully rebounded from its adjusted operating loss of EUR58 million in the first half of 2022.
Both Iberia and Vueling have taken advantage of the robust customer demand observed in the north and south Atlantic markets. The group projects that these markets will return to pre-pandemic capacity levels by the end of this year.
Furthermore, the company announced an exceptional swing to a pretax profit of EUR1.04 billion when compared to a pretax loss of EUR843 million in the previous year.
The revenue for this period also experienced substantial growth, reaching EUR13.58 billion compared to EUR9.35 billion in the previous year. Notably, passenger revenue played a pivotal role in this increase, with EUR11.78 billion generated, a significant improvement from the EUR7.60 billion reported in the previous year.
Looking ahead, the airline group expects its full-year capacity to reach approximately 97% of pre-Covid-19 levels, taking potential disruptions into consideration. The company remains cautious about various uncertainties such as the impact of geopolitical and macroeconomic volatility on fuel prices as well as consumer confidence.
These exceptional results highlight Iberia’s resilience and ability to thrive in a challenging and constantly changing industry. With its strategic plans for expanding capacity and commitment to providing outstanding customer service, Iberia is poised for continued success in the aviation sector.
