British Airways is on watch for any threats to the peak summer getaway season after it returned to profit and broke records for half-year earnings.
Its owner – IAG – promised today to focus on “operational resilience” with holiday travel in full swing after most schools broke up until September.
The company pointed to the UK and “parts of Europe” in its update, saying there was a “a challenging operating environment” there. It sounded like a reference to potential strikes in continental air traffic control and planned walkouts at Gatwick Airport.
A strike involving 1,000 staff at London’s second biggest air hub was due to start today, but was called off earlier this week after a new pay deal was accepted.
Airlines including BA have voiced their determination to avoid the disruption that hit last year’s peak getaway season, which ended up known as the “flightmare” as the industry struggled to scale back up to meet demand in the first year fully free of Covid restrictions.
IAG, which also owns Iberia and Aer Lingus, said around four-fifths of the revenue expected in the third quarter of the year was already booked in “an encouraging outlook for summer”.
It also predicted that for 2023, its capacity would return to 97% of pre-pandemic levels.
Bookings further out from summer showed “no sign of weakness”, it said, but it was more cautious looking into the autumn and beyond, citing “wider uncertainties”, which include: “the potential impact of geopolitical and macroeconomic volatility on the price of fuel and consumer confidence, as well as the impact of external factors on the operating environment, such as strikes.”
For the first half of the year, its operating profit hit a record of €1.3 billion, (£1.1 billion) from a loss of €446 million a year earlier. IAG said its Spanish flag-carrier led the way.
Luis Gallego, CEO, said: “Customer demand remains strong, particularly for leisure travel And our airlines have put in place plans to support operations during the busy summer period.”
The demand for holidays and trips to see friends and families offset what IAG called a “slower recovery in the corporate market” while it called the cargo market “weak”.
