International Consolidated Airlines Group (LON:IAG) revealed that its chief executive Willie Walsh will step down from the role in a matter of weeks, after a 15-year stint that included leading the merger of British Airways with Spanish rival Iberia to create the airline colossus's current form, on the same day it posted a rise in December traffic numbers.
Walsh, who has added further bolt-on acquisitions including Aer Lingus and Vueling since the 2011 merger, will step down as the FTSE 100-listed firm's boss and leave the board on 26 March before fully retiring from the company on 30 June, 2019.
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IAG, which is listed in London and in Madrid, said Luis Gallego, currently Iberia's CEO, will succeed Walsh in the top job.
Gallego started in the airline industry at Air Nostrum in 1997 and has been CEO of Iberia since 2014.
IAG chairman Antonio Vázquez said his fellow Spaniard “has led a profound transformation of this airline” and the board “is confident that Luis is the right person to lead IAG in the next stage of its development”.
The departure of Walsh from IAG comes after a year when 22 other FTSE 100 bosses left or announced they were leaving, including BP, Tesco, HSBC and Pearson.
December traffic rises
In a separate announcement on Thursday afternoon, IAG also revealed its December traffic and capacity figures.
The airlines operator said overall traffic in the final month of 2019, as measured in revenue passenger kilometres, increased by 6.4% versus the same period last year. Meanwhile, IAG’s overall capacity, as measured in available seat kilometres, increased by 2.0% versus the same period last year.
The group said passenger numbers in December were 5.5% higher year-on-year at 8.7mln, with 2019 passenger numbers climbing 4.7% to 118.3mln.
IAG's passenger growth was particularly strong in Latin America & Caribbean in 2019, rising 18%. Europe grew 2.9%, North America 4.3%, Asia Pacific 8.3%, and Africa, Middle East & South Asia 2.9%.
Looking per airline, British Airways passenger numbers were up 5.1% in December, with Iberia growing 7.5%, Aer Lingus by 1.4%, Level by 58%, and vueling by 3.2%.
For 2019, British Airways numbers were 1.6% higher, Iberia up 7.2%, Aer Lingus up 2.4%, Level more than doubled, and vueling up 5.6%.
The airline’s load factor for December was 83.9%, up from 80.4% a year prior, with the 2019 figure 84.6% compared to 83.3% in 2018.
But cargo tonnages fell 7.8% in December to 458mln tonnes, with the 2019 figure declining by 2.4% to 5.6mln tonnes.
In afternoon trading, shares in IAG were 1/3% higher at 626.20p, just easing off the session peak of 628.20p.
-- Adds traffic figures, share price --