BUSINESS NEWS
IAG reports 3% rise in profit as BA carryings up 6.6%
International Airlines Group (IAG) reported strong financial results last week, with chief executive Luis Gallego hailing “world-class margins and returns”. The BA parent recorded a post-
tax profit of €2.7 billion for 2024, 3% up year on year, with revenue up 9% to €32.1 billion and operating profit up 22% to €4.28 billion. BA contributed more than
£2 billion in operating profit, up from £1.34 billion in 2023, while Spanish carriers Iberia and Vueling made a combined operating profit of €1.43 billion (£1.18 billion). Gallego said BA “significantly
improved its operational performance in 2024” but noted
Luis Gallego
“ongoing challenges related to aircraft availability”, adding: “The wider operating environment remains difficult with air traffic control restrictions doubling at Heathrow during the year.” IAG reported “strong demand
for travel throughout 2024 and into 2025 across our core markets” but warned it does not expect business travel to return to 2019 levels. The group’s airlines carried 122
million passengers in the year, up 5.6% on 2023, of which BA flew more than 46 million, up 6.6%.
Amadeus records 20% profit leap as bookings rise 4.7% to 471m
Amadeus reported a near 20% increase in annual profit to €1.26 billion for 2024, with revenue up 13% to €6.14 billion. The travel technology
group, which combines its core air distribution business with hospitality and aviation technology, reported an annual operating profit of €1.6 billion last week, up 18% on the prior year. Total bookings were up 4.7% to
471 million, with Amadeus’s airline distribution business recording revenue of almost €2.95 billion, up 11% on 2023, “supported by both higher volume and revenue- per-booking growth rates”. Almost 2.2 billion passengers
boarded through its airline systems, with its aviation IT technology
Luis Maroto
revenue rising 16% year on year to €2.2 billion. The group’s hospitality and technology revenue also rose 12% to €991 million. Amadeus chief executive Luis
Maroto hailed “solid double-digit growth and expanding profitability, fuelled by all areas of our business”. The group announced a
€1.3 billion share repurchase plan. UK ‘won’t meet 2030 SAF target’ Ian Taylor
UK aviation will fail to meet the government’s sustainable aviation fuel target for 2030, according to the Climate Change Committee which advises ministers. The committee forecasts SAF
will comprise just 6% of UK aviation fuel by 2030, not 10% as required under the SAF Mandate introduced in January. It calculates this will rise to 17% by 2040 and 38% by 2050, noting: “This is lower than the government’s SAF trajectory due to expected supply constraints.” The Climate Change Committee’s
seventh Carbon Budget published last week reported aviation accounted for 8% of UK CO2 emissions in 2023 despite emissions being 10% down on the 2019 level, making it “the
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sixth highest-emitting sector” in the economy. It warned air travel would account for 9% of UK CO2 emissions this year and 11% by 2030, rising to 27% by 2040 and make it the highest-emitting sector even with a 17% reduction in emissions in line with a ‘Balanced Pathway’ projection by the committee. The committee noted the
non-CO2 warming effects of aviation have trebled since 1990 and warned these “are likely to have a high warming effect” and “must be addressed”. It reported aviation emissions in
2023 had risen 69% on 1990 levels despite “improving efficiencies”, with an increase in international leisure flights the biggest factor. It pointed out: “Survey data shows that in 2010, 78% of passengers were travelling
for leisure and 22% for business. By 2023, 86% were travelling for leisure and 14% for business.” The committee concluded
the sector can still reach net zero emissions by 2050 “through the roll-out of SAF, improved efficiencies, electrification of planes, managing growth in aviation demand and engineered removals [of CO2 from the atmosphere]”. But it argued: “The cost
of decarbonising aviation and addressing non-CO2 effects should be reflected in the cost to fly. This will help manage growth in aviation demand”, although “government may need to take additional demand management measures”. This would require “relatively large
changes in price”, the committee noted, with “potential levers” to include:
Heathrow
SAF and carbon removal costs “impacting demand through higher ticket prices”; increased air passenger duty “to better reflect the emissions impact of flying”; and a frequent-flyer levy which rises “with the number of flights an individual takes”. The committee also suggested
limiting airport expansion but removed the call for a moratorium on expansion which was in its last report.
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PICTURE: Shutterstock/1000 Words
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