British Airways owner IAG has returned to profit as the airline industry continues to rebound from Covid-19. The company said it made an operating profit of 1.26 billion euro (£1.1 billion) in 2022, a swing from a 2.97-billion-euro (£2.62 billion) loss the year before. All its airlines were profitable last year. Capacity across the group – which also includes carriers such as Aer Lingus and Iberia – was at 87% of 2019 levels in the final quarter of 2022.
IAG chief executive Luis Gallego said the premium leisure travel segment “performed very well” last year, with leisure bookings ahead of pre-coronavirus levels. He added that “demand continues to be strong” and the group is seeing “robust forward bookings at this point of the year across all routes. This year, the business expects to make between 1.8 billion and 2.3 billion euro (£1.59 billion to £2.03 billion). We are transforming our businesses. Revenue also soared in 2022, from 8.45 billion euro (£7.45 billion) in 2021 to 23.07 billion euro (£20.33 billion).”
IAG announced it has agreed to buy the remaining 80% of shares it does not own in Spain’s third largest airline Air Europa for 400 million euro (£353 million).