Tag Archives: International Airlines Group

Ryanair agrees to sell its 29.8% stake in Aer Lingus to IAG

Ryanair (Dublin) has agreed to sell its 29.8 percent share in Aer Lingus (Dublin) to the International Airlines Group-IAG (British Airways, Iberia and Vueling Airlines) (London). The airline issued this statement:

The Board of Ryanair Holdings PLC today (July 10) confirmed that it has voted unanimously to accept the IAG offer for Ryanair’s 29.8% shareholding in Aer Lingus Group plc. Ryanair’s stake in Aer Lingus has been available for sale since May 2012 and the Board believes that the current IAG offer maximizes Ryanair shareholder value.

In line with this decision, Ryanair will now vote in favor of the motion at the Aer Lingus EGM on July 16 (to give the Irish Government a golden share over Aer Lingus’s Heathrow slots) and Ryanair will also vote its 29.8% shareholding in favor of acceptance of the IAG offer, subject to this offer receiving regulatory approval from the European competition authorities.

Ryanair’s Michael O’Leary said:

“We believe the IAG offer for Aer Lingus is a reasonable one in the current market and we plan to accept it, in the best interests of Ryanair shareholders. The price means that Ryanair will make a small profit on its investment in Aer Lingus over the past 9 years.

This sale of our stake is timely given that our original strategy for Aer Lingus (to use it as a mid-priced brand to offer competition to flag carriers at primary airports) has been overtaken by the successful rollout – since September 2013 – of Ryanair’s “Always Getting Better” strategy, which has seen the Ryanair brand successfully enter many of Europe’s primary airports, being rewarded with strong growth in our network, traffic, load factor and profitability, while keeping our fares low and our punctuality high.

We wish IAG well with their takeover of Aer Lingus. When Ryanair first bid for Aer Lingus in late 2006, Ryanair (36 million passengers) carried 4 times Aer Lingus traffic (9 million). Today Ryanair (over 100 million) carries more than 10 times Aer Lingus traffic (10 million), and we will continue to deliver the vast majority of Ireland’s traffic and tourism growth in the coming months and years.”

Ken Odeluga, a senior market analyst at www.cityindex.com.sg comments on this latest news:

It has taken the better part of seven months for IAG to put the final pieces of the Aer Lingus puzzle in place.

Ryanair has, after much delay, which it insisted was not down to intransigence, agreed to sell its 30% to IAG, which had already struck a deal with Ireland’s government to purchase the country’s 25%.

Reports that the EU will swiftly grant conditional approval appear credible.

Concessions by IAG were accepted by the antitrust authorities this morning. IAG offered to relinquish some slots and to give its competitors special terms, like allowing them to provide connecting at favourable terms.

All these agreements will tend to focus investors’ minds back on the details of the €1.3 billion bid, for which a strong part of the rationale rests on highly prized routes from Heathrow and lucrative routes between the UK and North America.

Aer Lingus had 300 slots at Heathrow as of December, with industry figures suggesting each is worth at least £5 million per annum.

Also, Aer Lingus is not the unprofitable airline it was say about 15 years ago or more. It’s stronger in margin terms than Lufthansa, for instance, and had at least €550 million in free cash at last tally.

The additional 3.5%-4% of Heathrow market share will consolidate IAG’s dominance at the hub, ahead of the extension of capacity.

But now comes the hard part.

Despite its recent forecast upgrades, IAG remains the least profitable airline operator based in the UK or Ireland.

EasyJet and Ryanair are tightly matched and each seems to swap marginal dominance over the other every few years or so.

Either way, the pair has largely locked out all other large competitors in Europe, including IAG, for the last decade.

Plus, having already written down the value of its Aer Lingus stake, Ryanair’s £400 million proceeds from the sale will go straight to its bottom line.

The only way for a rival catch and match with the two above in terms of profits, is to grow, probably inorganically, and probably not in Europe, in the medium term.

With the soon-to-be-cemented deal, IAG has given itself the best chance among any large European carrier to close the profit gap, and the scale to absorb strategic hits to margins in Europe.

Top Copyright Photo: Paul Bannwarth/AirlinersGallery.com. Ryanair Boeing 737-8AS EI-DPM (msn 33640) lands in Tenerife Sur.

Ryanair aircraft slide show:

Aer Lingus aircraft slide show:

Bottom Copyright Photo: AirlinersGallery.com. Aer Lingus Airbus A319-111 EI-EPU (msn 3102) taxies to the gate at London’s Heathrow Airport.

IAG moves one step closer to acquiring a 25% share of Aer Lingus

British Airways (London) and Iberia (Madrid) parent company International Airlines Group (IAG) (London) has confirmed that it has reached agreement with Aer Lingus (Dublin) to make a €1.4 billion ($1.5 billion) (£1 billion) cash offer for Ireland’s national carrier.

The deal, which comes after months of negotiations, values Aer Lingus at €2.55 a share ($2.80 a share).

The board of the Irish carrier is recommending the offer, which was made after confirmation from the Irish government that it is willing to sell its 25 percent stake in Aer Lingus.

The decision of the sale was made at a meeting of the Irish cabinet late on Tuesday, which itself followed indications earlier in the day from Brussels that European competition authorities would not stand in IAG’s path.

Yesterday (May 28) IAG updated the Aer Lingus offer with this formal statement: CLICK HERE

Read more from The Irish Times: CLICK HERE

Assistant Editor Oliver Wilcock reporting from Manchester.

Copyright Photo: AirlinersGallery.com. Aer Lingus Airbus A320-214 EI-DEO (msn 2486) in the special Green Spirit – Official Airline of the Irish Rugby Team livery taxies at the home of IAG and British Airways – London (Heathrow).

Aer Lingus aircraft slide show:

International Airlines Group reports higher earnings in 2014 due to Iberia turnaround

International Airlines Group (IAG) (British Airways, Iberia and Vueling Airlines) (London and Madrid) presented Group consolidated results for the year to December 31, 2014:

IAG period highlights on results:

Fourth quarter operating profit €260 million (2013: operating profit of €113 million) before exceptional items

Revenue for the quarter up 9.9 per cent to €5,015 million, up 5.8 per cent at constant currency

Non-fuel unit costs for the quarter down 0.8 per cent at constant currency

Operating profit for the year to December 31, 2014 of €1,390 million (2013: operating profit of €770 million) before exceptional items

Revenue for the year up 8.0 per cent to €20,170 million and passenger unit revenue for the year down 0.4 per cent at constant currency

Fuel unit costs for the year down 7.8 per cent also down 7.8 per cent at constant currency.

Non-fuel unit costs before exceptional items for the year down 1.9 per cent, down 3.9 per cent at constant currency

Cash of €4,944 million at December 31, 2014 was up €1,311 million on 2013 year end

Adjusted gearing up 1 point to 51 per cent and adjusted net debt to EBITDAR improved 0.6 to 1.9 times

Willie Walsh, IAG Chief Executive Officer, said:

“We’re reporting strong full year results with an operating profit before exceptional items of €1,390 million which is up 80.5 per cent. Total revenue was up 8.0 per cent with non-fuel costs up 7.0 per cent and fuel costs up 0.6 per cent on capacity growth of 9.3 per cent.

“Iberia made an operating profit of €50 million compared to an operating loss of €166 million last year. The airline’s turnaround has been remarkable, both financially and operationally, and we’re very proud of its achievement especially its strong cost discipline. In 2013 we said our intention was for Iberia to breakeven in 2014 and it has fulfilled that promise.

“British Airways’ operating profit increased to €1,215 million up from €762 million last year which shows significant progress towards its long term targets. Vueling made an operating profit of €141 million, compared to an operating profit of €139 million in 2013, with the airline focusing on flexible growth.

“We achieved a strong unit cost performance, down 4.1 per cent, through increased productivity, supplier cost savings and lower fuel unit costs. The latter was boosted by the introduction of more efficient aircraft into our fleet and lower fuel prices in the last quarter of the year. However, the positive effect of the oil price reduction has been partly offset by hedging and significant currency impact.

“In the quarter, we made an operating profit before exceptional items of €260 million which is up from €113 million last year. Revenue for the quarter was up 9.9 per cent. Non-fuel costs were up 10.5 per cent and fuel costs decreased by 0.4 per cent on capacity growth of 5.8 per cent.”

British Airways aircraft slide show:

Iberia aircraft slide show:

Vueling Airlines aircraft slide show:

Is IAG’s seduction of Aer Lingus working?

International Airlines Group’s (IAG) (British Airways, Iberia and Vueling Airlines) (London) continued seduction of Irish flag carrier Aer Lingus (Dublin) seems to be finally working, as the airline is revealing the positives of a takeover by the owner of British and Spanish flag carriers British Airways (London-Heathrow) and Iberia (Madrid).

In a statement to The Guardian, Christoph Mueller, the clover-tailed carrier’s outgoing CEO says that Ireland’s entire economy will benefit if the International Airlines Group takes over Aer Lingus.

Mueller, who steps down as CEO of the airline this week, said IAG’s £1.02 billion (€1.4 billion) ($1.57 billion) offer to buy Aer Lingus would be the biggest single foreign investment in the Republic since the financial crash.

He continued that there was “a great deal of excitement” that Aer Lingus would be able to create jobs on a much larger scale if IAG took charge of the former state-run airline.

Mueller also stressed that talks between IAG and the Aer Lingus trade unions had been “very constructive”.

Aer Lingus announced on Tuesday that its profits had risen by almost 18% to €72 million ($81.6 million) from the previous year. Total revenue was up by 9.2%. For the first time in the airline’s history the number of passengers has exceeded 11 million.

On the hike in profits and the IAG take-over proposal, Mueller added: We profitably expanded our long-haul network utilizing our cost advantage and favorable geographic position and helped establish Dublin as the 7th largest European hub for transatlantic connections.

“Our short-haul business continued to demonstrate its resilience despite a highly competitive market. Commercial initiatives, in addition to cost control, led to the highest operating profit since the financial crisis and 17.8% above last year.”

Qatar Airways acquires a stake in IAG

Qatar Airways (Doha) has bought a 9.99 per cent stake in British Airways’ owner International Airlines Group (IAG), becoming the company’s largest shareholder.

The move will cement a close commercial relationship between BA and the airline, whose owner, the Qatari government, is a significant investor in Britain.

Willie Walsh, chief executive of International Airlines Group, the BA owner, said in : “We’re delighted to have Qatar Airways, one of the world’s premier airlines, as a long-term supportive shareholder. We will talk to them about what opportunities exist to work more closely together and further IAG’s ambitions as the leading global airline group.”

BA sponsored Qatar’s entry into the Oneworld airline alliance, and they also have a cargo partnership. Qatar has indicated it would seek to extend ties following the investment, which could include codeshares on flights via the Gulf state, allowing the airlines to sell tickets on each other’s planes.

Akbar Al Baker, the Qatar airline’s CEO said: “IAG represents an excellent opportunity to further develop our westwards strategy.”

Qatar Airways is prohibited from owning more than a minority stake in IAG under EU ownership rules and said it does not currently intend to increase its 9.99% shareholding.

Report by Assistant Editor Oliver Wilcock from Manchester.

Copyright Photo: SPA/AirlinersGallery.com. Qatar Airways’ second Airbus A380, the pictured A380-861 A7-APB (msn 143) completes its final approach to London’s Heathrow Airport, the home of IAG’s British Airways.

Qatar Airways aircraft slide show:

http://airlinersgallery.smugmug.com/Airlines-Asia-3/Airlines-Asia3-QZ/Qatar-Airways

Will Aer Lingus now accept IAG’s new raised cash bid to acquire the Irish carrier?

Aer Lingus (Dublin) is now expected to recommend a takeover by the International Airlines Group-IAG (London) (British Airways, Iberia and Vueling Airlines) according to a report today by The Irish Times. This change of heart comes after the IAG raised its bid for the flag carrier to a €2.50 ($2.80) a share cash bid. The offer could face opposition from the Irish government. If accepted and approved, Aer Lingus would join the Oneworld alliance.

Read the full report: CLICK HERE

Copyright Photo: SPA/AirlinersGallery.com. Aer Lingus controls valuable slots at London’s Heathrow Airport. Airbus A320-214 EI-DEF (msn 2256) completes its final approach to Heathrow.

Aer Lingus aircraft slide show:

http://airlinersgallery.smugmug.com/Airlines-Europe-1/Airlines-Europe-1/Aer-Lingus

IAG’s Willie Walsh: London Heathrow expansion is a “lost cause”

International Airline Group’s (IAG) (British Airways, Iberia and Vueling Airlines) (London) CEO Willie Walsh has stated the politicians of Britain lack the “character” to push for a third runway at London’s crowded Heathrow Airport (LHR) according to a report by The Guardian. According to Walsh the expansion of LHR is a “lost cause”.

Read the full report: CLICK HERE

Top Copyright Photo: Ariel Shocron/AirlinersGallery.com. Terminal 5 at London Heathrow Airport. T5 was opened in 2008, the main building is the largest free-standing structure in the United Kingdom. Terminal 5 is currently used exclusively by IAG carriers, especially British Airways and Iberia. Prior to March 2012, the terminal was used exclusively by British Airways. The terminal is designed to ultimately handle 35 million passengers a year. Despite this new terminal, the airport cannot expand without a third runway.

British Airways:

Video: The three options for a third runway at LHR offered by the airport:

Below Copyright Photo: Dave Glendinning/AirlinersGallery.com. LHR is the main hub of British Airways.

Bottom Copyright Photo: Richard Vandervord/AirlinersGallery.com. A crowded ramp scene at LHR in the past.

IAG has its best second quarter since 2007

International Airlines Group (IAG) (British Airways, Iberia and Vueling Airlines) (London) reported second quarter net income of €280 million ($376 million) up from €127 million ($170.5 million) net income for the same period a year ago. This is the best second quarter results since 2007.

Read the full report: CLICK HERE

Copyright Photo: Tony Storck/AirlinersGallery.com. Boeing 767-336 ER G-BNWD (msn 24336) of British Airways arrives at Baltimore/Washington.

British Airways:

Iberia:

Vueling Airlines:

IAG converts 20 Airbus A320neo options into firm orders for British Airways

International Airlines Group (IAG) (London) has converted 20 A320neo options into a firm order. These aircraft are currently intended to replace 21 shorthaul British Airways (London) aircraft.

British Airways already operates 120 Airbus single aisle aircraft covering the full Family range from the smallest A318 to the largest A321.

Previously in August 2013, IAG announced that, as part of a Vueling order for up to 120 Airbus A320 family aircraft, it had also secured 100 A320neo options.

To date, firm orders for the NEO have reached over 2,800 aircraft representing a 60 per cent share market share in its category.

Image: Airbus.

British Airways:

IAG reduces its first quarter loss to $206.3 million

International Consolidated Airlines Group (IAG) (British Airways, Iberia and Vueling Airlines) (London) today (May 9, 2014) presented Group consolidated results for the first quarter and the three months to March 31, 2014.

IAG period highlights on results:

. First quarter operating loss €150 million ($206.3 million) (2013: operating loss of €278 million – $382.3 million) before exceptional items
. Revenue for the quarter up 6.7 per cent to €4,203 million, up 7.6 per cent at constant currency
. Non-fuel costs up 3.8 per cent, up 4.8 per cent at constant currency
. At constant currency, first quarter passenger unit revenue down 1.4 per cent (excluding Vueling down 0.5 per cent) and non-fuel unit costs down 6.2 per cent (excluding Vueling down 4.2 per cent)
. Fuel unit costs for the quarter down 8.9 per cent, 7.4 per cent at constant currency
. Cash of €4,004 million at March 31, 2014 was up €371 million on 2013 year end
. Adjusted gearing remains at 50 per cent

Willie Walsh, IAG Chief Executive Officer, said:

“We’re pleased that our quarterly operating loss has reduced significantly from €278 million last year to €150 million, especially as Vueling’s quarterly losses were not included last year as they weren’t in the Group. At constant currency, revenue was up 7.6 per cent and non-fuel costs rose 4.8 per cent.

“Iberia has almost halved its losses from quarter one last year with an operating loss of €111 million compared to €202 million. The airline continues to benefit from restructuring and these figures don’t reflect the impact of recent pay and productivity agreements which took effect in April. While the restructuring remains work in progress, Iberia is gradually resuming some routes including longhaul services to Santo Domingo and Montevideo.

“British Airways made an operating loss of €5 million in the quarter, compared to a €72 million operating loss in 2013. The airline has increased capacity within a controlled cost environment and benefited from the efficiency of its new Airbus A380 and Boeing 787 aircraft.

“Vueling made an operating loss of €30 million and has managed to keep its losses flat while growing capacity. The airline continues to grow with its main focus in southern Europe”.

Copyright Photo: Antony J. Best/AirlinersGallery.com. British Airways’ Airbus A380-841 G-XLEB (msn 121) approaches the runway at London’s Heathrow Airport.

British Airways: