International Consolidated Airlines Grp : Traffic Statistics December 2011

RNS Number : 0774V

International Cons Airlines Group

05 January 2012

• In December 2011, Group traffic measured in Revenue Passenger Kilometres rose by 12.2 per cent versus December 2010; capacity measured in Available Seat Kilometres was up 11.5 per cent.  
• Group premium traffic for the month of December grew by 13.6 per cent compared to the previous year, with 12.0 per cent growth in non-premium traffic.
• Overall figures were positively impacted by the non-recurrence of poor weather in December last year, which particularly affected British Airways.
• In December, Iberia pilots' union went on strike for two days: Iberia operated 68 and 64 per cent of its flights on December 18th and 29th, respectively.
• Underlying market conditions appear unchanged, but there was a significant reduction in Iberia's short haul premium traffic compared to last year, influenced by the strikes during the month and the weakening economic environment.

STRATEGIC DEVELOPMENTS

On December 22nd, IAG and Lufthansa reached a binding agreement for IAG to acquire bmi for £172.5 million in cash, though the price is subject to significant reductions. The deal requires competition clearance.

Rising UK Air Passenger Duty has led British Airways to reduce its recruitment levels in 2012. It will now only create 400 extra jobs rather than the 800 previously planned. The airline will also postpone plans to bring an extra Boeing 747 into service in summer 2012, and review the use of two others.

Iberia has begun to recruit pilots for its new subsidiary Iberia Express with more than 1,600 applying so far.

Certain information included in these statements is forward-looking and involves risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements.

Forward-looking statements include, without limitation, projections relating to results of operations and financial conditions and the Company's plans and objectives for future operations, including, without limitation, discussions of the Company's Business Plan, expected future revenues, financing plans and expected expenditures and divestments. All forward-looking statements in this report are based upon information known to the Company on the date of this report. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

It is not reasonably possible to itemise all of the many factors and specific events that could cause the Company's forward-looking statements to be incorrect or that could otherwise have a material adverse effect on the future operations or results of an airline operating in the global economy. Further information on some of the most important risks in this regard is given in the shareholder documentation in respect of the merger issued on October 26, 2010 and in the Securities Note and Summary issued on January 10, 2011; these documents are available on .

Group Performance	Month of December			Year to Date
	2011	2010	Change	2011	2010		Change
Passengers Carried ('000s)	3,880	3,526	10.0%	51,687	50,600		2.1%
Domestic (UK & Spain)	758	797	-4.9%	10,845	12,388		-12.5%
Europe	1,585	1,362	16.4%	22,349	21,098		5.9%
North America	630	518	21.6%	8,026	7,146		12.3%
Latin America & Caribbean	399	375	6.4%	4,774	4,314		10.7%
Africa, Middle East & S.Asia	388	359	8.1%	4,176	4,263		-2.0%
Asia Pacific	120	115	4.3%	1,517	1,391		9.1%
Revenue Passenger Km (millions)	13,549	12,077	12.2%	168,617	157,323		7.2%
Domestic (UK & Spain)	484	511	-5.3%	6,747	7,642		-11.7%
Europe	1,874	1,670	12.2%	27,584	26,660		3.5%
North America	4,235	3,434	23.3%	53,950	47,736		13.0%
Latin America & Caribbean	3,326	3,078	8.1%	39,372	35,532		10.8%
Africa, Middle East & S.Asia	2,395	2,193	9.2%	25,427	25,336		0.4%
Asia Pacific	1,235	1,191	3.7%	15,537	14,417		7.8%
Available Seat Km (millions)	17,471	15,676	11.5%	213,193	199,032		7.1%
Domestic (UK & Spain)	664	753	-11.8%	9,157	10,510		-12.9%
Europe	2,707	2,486	8.9%	36,956	35,954		2.8%
North America	5,316	4,407	20.6%	66,163	58,921		12.3%
Latin America & Caribbean	4,113	3,764	9.3%	47,605	42,294		12.6%
Africa, Middle East & S.Asia	3,091	2,827	9.3%	33,791	33,857		-0.2%
Asia Pacific	1,580	1,439	9.8%	19,521	17,496		11.6%
Passenger Load Factor (%)	77.6	77.0	+0.6 pts	79.1	79.0		+0.1 pts
Domestic (UK & Spain)	72.9	67.9	+5.0 pts	73.7	72.7		+1.0 pts
Europe	69.2	67.2	+2.0 pts	74.6	74.2		+0.4 pts
North America	79.7	77.9	+1.8 pts	81.5	81.0		+0.5 pts
Latin America & Caribbean	80.9	81.8	-0.9 pts	82.7	84.0		-1.3 pts
Africa, Middle East & S.Asia	77.5	77.6	-0.1 pts	75.2	74.8		+0.4 pts
Asia Pacific	78.2	82.8	-4.6 pts	79.6	82.4		-2.8 pts
Cargo and Total Capacity (millions)
Cargo Tonne Km	527	483	9.1%	6,156	5,907		4.2%
Total Revenue Tonne Km	1,828	1,640	11.5%	22,193	20,862		6.4%
Available Tonne Km	2,464	2,214	11.3%	30,050	27,996		7.3%
Overall Load Factor	74.2	74.1	+0.1 pts	73.9	74.5		-0.6 pts
Performance by Airline	Month of December			Year to Date
	2011	2010	Change	2011	2010	Change
Iberia
Revenue Passenger Km (millions)	3,919	3,992	-1.8%	51,268	51,242	0.1%
Available Seat Km (millions)	4,997	5,093	-1.9%	63,042	62,312	1.2%
Cargo Tonne Km (millions)	123	137	-10.2%	1,363	1,314	3.7%
British Airways
Revenue Passenger Km (millions)	9,630	8,084	19.1%	117,348	106,082	10.6%
Available Seat Km (millions)	12,475	10,582	17.9%	150,152	136,721	9.8%
Cargo Tonne Km (millions)	404	346	16.8%	4,793	4,593	4.4%

This information is provided by RNS

The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

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