IAG group traffic and premium traffic rise in May

British Airways and Iberia parent International Consolidated Airlines said group traffic, as measured in revenue passenger kilometres, rose 14.1% in May from last year.

The airline, which also owns Aer Lingus and Vueling, said group capacity measured in available seat kilometres was also up 14.1% from the previous year.

On a pro-forma basis, group traffic was up 4.4% and group capacity was 4.5% higher.

Group premium traffic for the month of May was up 1.4% on a pro-forma basis.

The load factor – which measures how full flights were – was unchanged at 79.8%.

The company made a number of strategic developments in May, one of which was an agreement with Gogo to provide high-speed inflight connectivity on longhaul flights using next-generation satellite-based systems.

In addition, British Airways said it was launching the only direct flight between London and Santiago in Chile from January 3, 2017, while Vueling signed an interline agreement with LATAM to improve trans-European traffic by providing more long-haul connections at its Barcelona hub.

At 1535 BST, IAG shares were down 1.2% to 525.80p.