International Airlines Group has again reduced its planned capacity for the fourth quarter of 2020, blaming “the high uncertainty of the current environment”.
The group had already revised down its fourth quarter capacity forecast in September, with plans to operate around 40 per cent of flights.
But this estimate has now been further reduced, with IAG warning that it “now plans for capacity in 4Q 2020 to be no more than 30 per cent compared to 2019”.
In a statement the group said:
“Recent overall bookings have not developed as previously expected due to additional measures implemented by many European governments in response to a second wave of COVID-19 infections, including an increase in local lockdowns and extension of quarantine requirements to travellers from an increasing number of countries.
“At the same time, initiatives designed to replace quarantine periods and increase customer confidence to book and travel, such as pre-departure testing and air corridor arrangements, have not been adopted by governments as quickly as anticipated.”
As a result of the revised figures, IAG said that it no longer expects to reach breakeven in terms of Net cash flows from operating activities during the fourth quarter.
Preliminary third quarter results show an 83 per cent decline in total revenue, from €7.3 billion last year to just €1.2 billion.
IAG is also expected to make an operating loss of €1.3 billion for Q3, compared to a €1.4 billion profit last year.
Revenue passenger kilometres declined by 88 per cent over the period, while load factors slumped by 38.8 points to just 48.9 per cent.
The group will release detailed results for the third quarter on October 30.
