Brussels attacks 'have hit travel growth' - IAG

BTN News
Tuesday, 03 May 2016

The poorer UK and world economies have hit airline group IAG as executives take fewer trips in business and first class - and some take fewer trips overall.


The airline group, which owns British Airways, Aer Lingus and Spain’s Iberia and Vueling, has axed some services on previously well-supported routes to cities including Singapore, Hong Kong, Frankfurt and Madrid.


Chief executive Willie Walsh said the airline group would cut its 2016 capacity growth to 4.9 per cent from a previously planned 5.2 per cent.


He said the slowdown in the oil and gas market also had hit demand for routes to Africa and he would scale back operations to Luanda in Angola, Lagos in Nigeria and Accra in Ghana.


In South America, where the Brazilian economy has slumped, routes to Sao Paulo, and Rio would be cut after the Olympics in August.


Walsh added that the Brussels attacks, which included a bombing in the departure hall of Zaventem airport that killed 32 people in March, also had hit travel in the past six weeks.


Britain’s EU referendum in late June may also have caused businesses to delay sending executives abroad as they wait to see what the landscape looks like after July, he said.

Brussels attacks 'have hit travel growth' - IAG

BTN News
Tuesday, 03 May 2016

The poorer UK and world economies have hit airline group IAG as executives take fewer trips in business and first class - and some take fewer trips overall.


The airline group, which owns British Airways, Aer Lingus and Spain’s Iberia and Vueling, has axed some services on previously well-supported routes to cities including Singapore, Hong Kong, Frankfurt and Madrid.


Chief executive Willie Walsh said the airline group would cut its 2016 capacity growth to 4.9 per cent from a previously planned 5.2 per cent.


He said the slowdown in the oil and gas market also had hit demand for routes to Africa and he would scale back operations to Luanda in Angola, Lagos in Nigeria and Accra in Ghana.


In South America, where the Brazilian economy has slumped, routes to Sao Paulo, and Rio would be cut after the Olympics in August.


Walsh added that the Brussels attacks, which included a bombing in the departure hall of Zaventem airport that killed 32 people in March, also had hit travel in the past six weeks.


Britain’s EU referendum in late June may also have caused businesses to delay sending executives abroad as they wait to see what the landscape looks like after July, he said.