British Airways’ parent company IAG said its profits rose 56 per cent in the three months to the end of September, as it hailed strong performances on its North and South Atlantic routes.
The group, which also owns Iberia, Aer Lingus and Vuelling, revealed pre-tax profit rose year-to-year in the third quarter to €1.6billion (£1.4billion), up from just over €1billion (£879 million).
IAG also reported flight capacity was up 17.9 per cent and revenue rose 18 per cent to €8.6billion (£7.5billion) during the period.
IAG also reported that flight capacity was up 17.9 per cent and revenue rose 18.0 per cent to €8.6billion (£7.5billion) during the period
The cost of fuel dropped 6.2 per cent compared with a year ago while revenue per passenger rose 2.2 per cent and is up by almost a quarter since 2019.
The firm also revealed that it was able to reduce its gross debt by €2.4billion (£2.1 billion) to €17.2billion (£15billion) in the three months to the end of September.
Luis Gallego, chief executive of IAG, said: ‘This quarter represents a record third-quarter performance for IAG. This is allowing us to invest in the business and reduce a significant amount of our debt.
‘During the third quarter we saw sustained strong demand across all our routes, in particular the North and South Atlantic and in all leisure destinations around Europe.
‘We continue to develop our hubs of Barcelona, Dublin, London and Madrid, supported by our fleet deliveries and future orders.’
Neil Shah, of research firm Edison Group, said: ‘IAG now expects full year 2023 capacity to be around 96 per cent of pre-Covid levels.
‘Despite this, the group has flagged risks of recession and rising oil prices due to conflict in the Middle East as operational considerations – painting a picture of an industry poised for pre-pandemic return, but not without ongoing macroeconomic factors that will require strong leadership and decisive action to address.’
In July, IAG swung back to profit in the first half thanks to strong demand for flights and higher ticket prices.
The firm posted a pre-tax profit of €1.04billion (£900million) in the first six months of the year, having recorded a loss of €843million (£721million) a year before, as revenues surged 45 per cent to €13.6billion (£11.6billion).
IAG shares are down by 1.1 per cent to 141.25p in morning trading on Friday.
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