British Airways parent flies into 1.3-billion-euro loss

International Airlines Group (IAG), the owner of British Airways and Spanish carrier Iberia, dived into a loss totaling 1.3 billion euros ($1.52 billion) in the 3rd quarter on coronavirus fallout, it announced on Thursday, October 22.

The operating loss before exceptional items compared with profit of 1.4 billion euros one year earlier, IAG said in a statement ahead of a full earnings release due next week.

Revenue slumped 83% to 1.2 billion euros in the reporting period, it added.

IAG said it expects capacity in the current 4th quarter to be no more than 30% compared with a year earlier.

“As a result, the group no longer expects to reach breakeven in terms of net cash flows from operating activities during” the final 3 months of the year, IAG said.

IAG said bookings had not recovered as expected owing “to additional measures implemented by many European governments in response to a second wave of COVID-19 infections.”

It pointed to an increase in local lockdowns, an extension of quarantine requirements for travelers, and a lack of pre-departure testing.

New British Airways chief executive Sean Doyle on Monday, October 19, urged the UK government to end the quarantining of passengers arriving from abroad.

British Airways, which is slashing thousands of jobs, last week announced the sudden departure of Doyle’s predecessor Alex Cruz.

Doyle had been CEO at Aer Lingus, which like British Airways, is owned by airlines group IAG. – Rappler.com