Corporate travel demand improved throughout 2024 for International Airlines Group (IAG), the parent company of British Airways, Iberia, Aer Lingus, and Vueling. However, the company acknowledged in its latest earnings release that it does not expect a full return to pre-Covid-19 levels, particularly for short-haul and short-duration trips.
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IAGIAG Sees Corporate Travel Recovery but Expects Pre-Pandemic Levels to Remain Out of Reach
Corporate travel demand improved throughout 2024 for International Airlines Group (IAG), the parent company of British Airways, Iberia, Aer Lingus, and Vueling. However, the company acknowledged in its latest earnings release that it does not expect a full return to pre-Covid-19 levels, particularly for short-haul and short-duration trips.
Corporate Travel Performance by Airline
- IAG’s corporate travel volume reached 74% of 2019 levels, with revenue at 86%—a three-percentage-pointincrease in volume and six-percentage-point rise in revenue from 2023, according to CEO Luis Gallego.
- British Airways: 66% of pre-pandemic corporate volume, 82% of 2019 revenue.
- Iberia: 84% of corporate travel volume, surpassing 2019 revenue at 108%.
- Aer Lingus: Corporate travel volume exceeded 2019 levels by 5%, with revenue reaching 100% of pre-pandemic performance.
Sector trends indicated a notable rebound in finance-related industries, including banking, accounting, and consulting, while technology companies also performed strongly, Gallego noted during the earnings call.
IAG Q4 and Full-Year 2024 Financial Highlights
- Q4 2024 passenger revenue: €6.96 billion ($7.24 billion), up 10.6% year over year.
- Total Q4 revenue: Over €8 billion, an 11.4% increase.
- Full-year passenger revenue: €28.27 billion, up 9.5% year over year.
- Total 2024 revenue: €32.1 billion, a 9% increase from 2023.
- Operating profit for Q4: €961 million, nearly doubling from €502 million in 2023.
- Full-year operating profit: €4.28 billion, up 22.1% from 2023.
Capacity Expansion Plans for 2025
IAG expects 3% overall capacity growth in Q1 2025 and throughout the full year.
- British Airways: +1% capacity in Q1, +2% for full-year 2025.
- Iberia: +5% in Q1, +3% for the full year.
- Aer Lingus: +5% in Q1, +6% for 2025.
Regional Capacity Growth Outlook
- Domestic routes: +4%
- Europe: +3%
- North Atlantic: +3%
- Latin America: +4.5%
- Asia-Pacific: +5%
Gallego highlighted that long-haul routes will account for 70% of IAG’s growth, while short-haul routes will make up the remaining 30%.
Despite the ongoing recovery in business travel, IAG remains cautious about a full return to 2019 levels, particularly for short-haul corporate travel, but sees continued revenue and capacity growth for 2025.
Source: IAG
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