International Consolidated Airlines(IAG) has quantified the impact of recent strike action by British Airways pilots that caused the operator to cancel 2,325 flights. The final net impact of the industrial action is estimated to be €137m (£122m), with an additional €33m relating to threatened strike action by Heathrow Airport employees. IAG also estimated that the latest booking trends in its budget airlines, mainly Vueling and Level, will have an adverse impact of €45m.
As a result, 2019 operating profit before exceptional items is expected to be €215m lower than 2018 pro-forma of €3.49bn.Capacity growth for the fourth quarter is now expected to be 1.2 percentage points lower at 2 per cent in terms of available seat kilometres, and full-year capacity growth is expected to be around 4 per cent, down from previous expectations of 5 per cent.
