Strong start to the year by IAG

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IAG Cargo today announced its Q1 results from January 1 to March 31, 2015, reporting commercial revenue of €246m versus €250m for the same period last year. This was achieved on a capacity reduction of 8%.

Increased asset utilisation and premium product growth led to a 2 point improvement in load factor and a 2.7% yield improvement. The strong US dollar continues to stimulate inbound US trade and is driving positive exchange benefits.

Steve Gunning, CEO at IAG Cargo commented: “It’s been a strong start to the year: load factors and yields are up. Our decision to address capacity discipline head-on has proven to be the right one. Underpinning our commitment to sensible capacity management is a focus on utilising our substantial bellyhold network while providing freighter services on key routes like Hong Kong to London. Throughout 2015 we will continue to explore ways to expand our network with asset light solutions.

“Services like EuroConnector, meanwhile, have helped utilise our substantial short-haul fleet, while our Partner Plus programme is allowing us to increase our network reach without incurring large capital costs.

“The breadth of our network offering has enabled us to participate in the important Asia-US flows and provided a significant boost to our business last quarter.

“While this has been a good start to 2015 there is no room for complacency. It is more important than ever that we continue to exercise strict capacity discipline, invest in operational excellence and further enhance our premium product offering to address the core needs of our customers and our businesses.”