Iberia recently released its second quarter results, and reported a €72.8 million loss, which compares to a €21.2 million profit during the same period last year.
One major issue for airlines worldwide has been adapting capacity – and Iberia seems to be doing a decent job of this, as it cut ASKs more than RPKs, resulting in a gain in load factor by 1.5 points. The airline says that “further capacity reductions are planned, amounting to 6 per cent for the year, beyond the previous target of 4.3 per cent.”
Iberia has already trimmed its fleet, and ended the second quarter with 15 aircraft less than it did at the same time last eyar. More steps on the fleet side are being taken, as Iberia reports that ”three more short and medium-haul aircraft are to be grounded, adding to the five already withdrawn from service, while delivery of a new long-haul Airbus A-340/600 has been postponed.” Iberia is also making its current fleet fly more often as utilization, is up 4.4% to 10.5 block hours per day.
Operating revenues per ASK were down 16.5%, though operating expense was also down, by 6.7%. One area that is especially weak is cargo, with revenues down 34.6% paired with a 15.7 point decline in load factor.
There will be further labor pain as well, as the airline says there will be “new staff cuts, additional to the 4.7 per cent reduction in the second quarter.”
I’m very excited to watch what happens in the Spanish market in the future. In the past few years, a couple of new LCCs have entered – Clickair and Vueling. Iberia had a 20% stake in the former. These two airlines have merged under the Vueling name. (On a side note, it is sad to see the Clickair livery to go away, which I think is one of the nicest around.) Iberia now owns 45.85% of Vueling, and the parent company of Air Nostrum, which does regional flying for Iberia, owns 4.15%. So, now Iberia has a major stake in one of its competitors. Interesting! 
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