2009 proved to be one of the most difficult years in Iberia Airline’s history, with huge losses posted today. The troubled airline, which has recently agreed to a merger with British Airways, blamed the terrible results on the global economic crisis and increased competition for air passengers.
The Spanish company, which has managed to record a profit for 13 consecutive years, reported an overall net loss of 273 million euros for the past 12 months. The airline commented on the annual report, buttering it over by saying, “Throughout the year Iberia adapted its supply of flight services to the changes in the different markets, cutting seat supply overall by 6 per cent, which brought an overall passenger load factor of 79.8 per cent, similar to that of 2008, and one of the highest achieved by any European network carrier last year.”
Try as they might though, the airline cannot escape the fact that it posted a 20% loss on 2008s income and their business class seats suffered from a lack of interest, due mainly to outside competition. It looks like the merger with British Airways could not come sooner…
Tags: air passengers, airline, british airways, business class, iberia airlines