International Airlines Group (IAG), owner of British Airways and Aer Lingus, will place an order for 53 new Airbus and Boeing long-haul aircraft after reporting strong first-quarter results on Friday.
The company said it will purchase 32 Boeing Co. 787-10 aircraft for British Airways and 21 Airbus SE A330neo planes, which may be assigned to IAG’s airline brands including Aer Lingus, Iberia, and Level.
They are set to be delivered between 2028 to 2033 and are in addition to the 18 planes it ordered in March.
The aircraft are mainly for replacement, with around one third to be used for growth in IAG’s core markets, the company said.
It comes as IAG said its first-quarter 2025 revenue grew 9.6 percent to €7.04 billion, while operating profit increased by €130 million to €198 million, as strong revenue growth and lower fuel prices offset expected cost increases.
Its operating margin also increased to 2.8 percent.
IAG credited the strong results to “good operational performance,” particularly at British Airways, while noting that Iberia and Vueling continue to be “amongst the most punctual airlines in the world.”
The British-Spanish company also credited “robust” demand across its North Atlantic routes, which saw 27.8 percent of the total available seat kilometre (ASK) revenue in the first three months to March 2025.
Demand was also strong in Europe (23.3 percent of the total ASK) and Latin America and the Caribbean (22.5 percent) it said.
Spain and the UK were slightly more disappointing with just 8.4 percent of the total ASK.
The results come as plane manufacturers have been battling with supply chain snags and other challenges that have delayed deliveries.
However, IAG said its outlook for the full year remains unchanged, though it acknowledged “geopolitical and macroeconomic uncertainty.”
As of May 6, the company is around 80 percent booked for the second quarter, with revenue ahead of last year, and 29 percent booked for the second half, which it said is broadly in line with last year
Luis Gallego, IAG chief executive officer, said the company’s strong first quarter results “reflect the performance of our businesses and the effectiveness of our strategy and transformation.”
For now, the company remains focused on strengthening its brands across its markets of the North Atlantic, Latin America, and intra-Europe.
“We continue to see resilient demand for air travel across all our markets, particularly in the premium cabins and despite the macroeconomic uncertainty.
“Our commitment to financial strength and shareholder value is reflected in €530 million of share buybacks completed in 2025 so far, alongside a proposed final dividend of €288 million, which brings our total dividend for 2024 to €435 million,” Gallego said.
The announcement comes as Boeing seeks to ramp up production of its best-selling 737 MAX jet to a rate of 38 per month this year, following a turbulent 2024 that saw the plane maker come under scrutiny due to safety issues.
