International Consolidated Airlines Group SA on Friday reported its first quarter narrowed alongside strong revenue as Iberia delivered its ‘best ever’ quarterly performance, while noting capacity recovering towards pre-pandemic levels.

IAG, the London-based parent company of British Airways and Iberia, said pretax loss for the first three months of 2023 narrowed substantially to €121 million from €916 million a year prior.

Revenue was €5.89 billion, up 74% from €3.44 billion the year before. This was driven by Iberia’s performance for the quarter, as well as improved passenger capacity levels post-pandemic.

Looking ahead, IAG noted an ‘encouraging’ outlook for the summer period, with around 80% of its second quarter revenue booked. The company also expects its operating profit to be above the top end of its 2023 guidance of €1.8 billion to €2.3 billion.

Customer demand currently remains strong, and passenger capacity is expected to be around 97% of 2019 levels for the full year, as the company focuses on its core markets, IAG said.

Chief Executive Officer Luis Gallego said: ‘Iberia contributed a record first quarter profit and all our airlines performed above expectations, benefiting from robust demand and a lower fuel price in the quarter. We are seeing healthy forward bookings with leisure demand particularly strong while business travel continues to recover more slowly.

‘As we return to more normal operations, we continue to invest in sustainability, including more fuel-efficient aircraft, and in customer experience, updating the business cabins for British Airways and Iberia. Over the past year, we have recruited thousands of new employees across the group and strengthened our operations so that we are ready to deliver for our customers during the summer peak.’

Shares in IAG were up 3.8% at 152.70 pence each in London on Friday morning.

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