Aer Lingus owner IAG cuts costs to survive travel slump; company also demands COVID-19 pre-departure test

Aer Lingus and British Airways owner IAG’s new chief executive Luis Gallego have stated that they will have to minimise business expenses even further, as there will be less travel this time due to the second wave of COVID-19 and the winter season.

The IAG also asked the government to conduct a pre-departure test to allow quarantine-free travel as Europe is locked up again.

The company which also owns Iberia and Vueling, claimed that it had reduced the cash operating costs by 54% from the initial plans to €205 million a week during the period July-September. According to IAG, it was a move that was crucial to the airline survival during a winter with very low travel.

The CEO Luis Gallego said that “the group has made significant progress on restructuring and we continue to reduce our cost base.”

Mr. Gallego took over from Willie Walsh in September after the group obtained shareholder approval for a €2.74 billion capital raise to boost its finances.

IAG, released more data on its third quarter after it confirmed a quarterly loss of €1.3 billion last week.

The company reported a gross operating loss of €1.9 billion for the year, including exceptional items relating to fuel hedges and restructuring expenses for British Airways and Aer Lingus.