International Airlines Group passenger numbers jump as British Airways names Alex Cruz new boss
International Airlines Group (IAG) said this morning passenger numbers jumped 16.6 per cent in October this year – as it named the new boss of British Airways.
On a pro-forma basis, that increase was 7.6 per cent. Meanwhile, group capacity measured in available seat kilometres rose 13.2 per cent – up 4.3 per cent on a pro-forma basis.
Alex Cruz, currently chairman and chief executive of Vueling, one of its brands, will take over from Keith Williams as executive chairman of BA next year, the company said.
Meanwhile, it upgraded long-range targets, suggesting operating margin will rise to between 12 and 15 per cent between next year and 2020, up from 10 to 14 per cent; while average earnings per share will rise 12 per cent a year, up from the 10 per cent it originally expected.
So far this year, the company has announced new routes via Aer Lingus, which it acquired earlier this year, between Dublin and Los Angeles, Connecticut and Newark, and via Iberia to three airports in Bolivia, thanks to a codeshare agreement with Boliviana de Aviacion.
In September British Airways took delivery of the first of 22 Boeing 787 Dreamliners, which will operate to Delhi, ABu Dhabi and Muscat, it said.