BUSINESS NEWS Financial results: IAG, Heathrow, Gatwick, NCL, Accor post 2020 figures. Ian Taylor reports


IAG buoyed by ‘upturn’ in wake of €4.3bn loss


International Airlines Group confirmed a “spike” in bookings at British Airways as it reported a loss of €4.3 billion for 2020. Heathrow, Gatwick and


Norwegian Air also reported substantial losses last week. However, IAG chief executive


Luis Gallego reported: “Bookings at BA surged since the prime minister’s announcement of a four-step plan to ease restrictions.” IAG chief financial officer Steve


Gunning confirmed: “We’ve seen bookings spike since the PM made his announcement.” And BA chief executive Sean Doyle said “We saw real evidence of pent-up demand.” Gallego insisted long-haul traffic


at BA and sister carrier Iberia was proving stronger than expected and argued corporate traffic would return by 2023-24. He said: “The conventional


wisdom seems to be that long-haul is the weakest sector. That is not our experience. Since July, long-haul has increased for BA and for Iberia. The


NCLH’s Del Rio says prices at ‘all-time high’ amid demand


Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings forecast “a boom time” for the sector once cruises resume as it reported a $4 billion loss for 2020 last week. President and chief executive


Frank Del Rio said demand would exceed supply from the moment


travelweekly.co.uk


BA bookings have ‘surged’ since the PM’s roadmap announcement


Indian Ocean and Caribbean has been particularly strong for BA and the Caribbean for Iberia. Visiting friends and relatives traffic is a significant element on these routes.” IAG will operate about 20% of its


2019 capacity through to the end of March and Gallego said: “We have very low expectations for Easter.” But he added: “When travel restrictions start to be released, bookings start to recover quickly.” Heathrow Airport reported


a loss of £2 billion for 2020 as annual passenger numbers fell from 81 million to 22 million. However,


chief executive John Holland-Kaye said: “We can be hopeful with Britain on the cusp of becoming the first country in the world to safely resume international travel and trade at scale.” Gatwick Airport reported a


£465 million loss for the year, but chief executive Stewart Wingate noted “renewed optimism as a result of the UK government’s roadmap”. Norwegian Air reported a NOK16.6 billion (£1.38 billion) loss for the fourth quarter of 2020 but insisted it plans to emerge from bankruptcy protection in Ireland and Norway “more financially secure”.


Airbnb’s $4.6bn loss dwarfs those of hotel groups Accor and IHG


Some of the world’s largest accommodation providers reported sharply differing annual results amid the fallout from the pandemic. Hotel giant Accor reported


a near €2 billion (£1.72 billion) loss for 2020 although the group’s operating loss was €391 million. Accor’s headline loss compared


with an annual pre-tax loss of $280 million (£200 million) at InterContinental Hotels Group. But losses at Airbnb dwarfed


both. The short-term rental giant reported a loss of $4.6 billion (£3.3 billion) for 2020, following a loss of $674 million in 2019. Airbnb’s losses were inflated to


$3.9 billion in the final quarter by stock-based payouts to employees as a result of the company’s partial listing. The company raised $3.5 billion on the US stock market in December, valuing it at more than $100 billion. Airbnb told investors “our business proved resilient”. Booking Holdings, parent of


the world’s largest OTA, reported a $59 million profit for 2020, although it recorded an operating loss of $631 million. In 2019, Booking made a profit of almost $4.9 billion.


Frank Del Rio


cruising restarts in North America despite having no restart date. Del Rio said: “We’re not awaiting


a green light for cruises in the next few days.” But he insisted: “This has the making of a boom time. The industry has been shut a year – 30 million people who want to cruise cannot. Demand is going to exceed supply after northwards of 20 ships have been removed from the North American supply. Pricing is going to dictate the day.” He noted: “We’re spending a


fraction of what we would normally on marketing. [But] we’re slightly


ahead of an all-time high on pricing even with the dilutive effect of future cruise credits [issued for cancelled cruises]. We’re so well booked. It’s astonishing.” NCL Holdings, which operates


Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises, reported $1.2 billion in advance sales at the end of December, including $0.85 billion in future cruise credits. All cruises are cancelled to the end of May.


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PICTURE: Shutterstock


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