IAG Cargo has reported commercial revenue of €298m for the third quarter – an increase of 3.5 per cent on last year.
Volumes were up 1.1 per cent to 1,511 million freight tonne kilometres. Cargo capacity for the same period was up 3.4 per cent.
Overall yield (commercial revenue per FTK) for the quarter increased by 2.3 per cent versus the same period last year; excluding exchange this yield was down 4.3 per cent.
Managing director Steve Gunning said: “The economic climate remains challenging but we continue to structure our business to cope with the volatile market conditions. Against our competitors, our performance has been positive. Our focus remains on maximising our network connections to best serve our customers, continuing to develop our range of accessible distribution channels and delivering high-quality premium products across our extended network.”
IAG Cargo comprises British Airways World Cargo, Iberia Cargo and bmi Cargo. Last year it had a total turnover €1.19bn.
* International Airline Group (IAG) has set out plans to restructure Iberia in a bid to return it to profitability.
Overall, IAG made an operating profit of €17m in the first nine months. British Airways produced an operating profit of €286 million, but Iberia made an operating loss of €262 million.
IAG chief executive Willie Walsh said: “Iberia continues to cause concern and we are announcing today a restructuring plan to introduce permanent structural change across the airline. Iberia is in a fight for survival and we will transform it to reduce its cost base so it can grow profitably in the future.”
The plan for Iberia involves cutting network capacity by 15 per cent to focus on the profitable routes. 4,500 jobs will go and the fleet will be cut by 25 aircraft.
Rafael Sánchez-Lozano, Iberia’s chief executive, said: “Iberia is in fight for survival. It is unprofitable in all its markets. We have to take tough decisions now to save the company and return it to profitability. Unless we take radical action to introduce permanent structural change the future for the airline is bleak. However this plan gives us a platform to turn the business around and grow.”
