International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (LSE:IAG), the owner of British Airways, raised guidance for the full year as demand for travel continues to pick up.
The FTSE 100-listed airline said it currently expects its full-year 2023 operating profit before exceptional items to be higher than the top end of previous guidance of €1.8bn to €2.3bn.
Luis Gallego, IAG's chief executive officer, said: “We are seeing healthy forward bookings with leisure demand particularly strong while business travel continues to recover more slowly.”
For the first quarter to 31 March 2023, IAG reported operating profit before exceptional items of €9mln, up €750mln versus quarter one last year, the first positive outcome in the first quarter since 2019, representing ongoing strong customer demand across all airlines.
The company said British Airways returned to profit in quarter one for the first time since Q1 2019, while strong demand in Spain and Latin America, as well as on routes to the US, delivered Iberia's best-ever first-quarter performance.
IAG said the improved results reflected a strong yield performance and the benefit of a lower fuel price.
Markets in Latin America and North Atlantic markets are now back at pre-pandemic levels of capacity while IAG noted an encouraging outlook for the summer with around 80% of expected quarter two revenue now booked.