IAG Group March traffic statistics

RNS Number : 6140B

International Cons Airlines Group

04 April 2013

MARCH 2013 - GROUP TRAFFIC AND CAPACITY STATISTICS

§ In March 2013, Group traffic measured in Revenue Passenger Kilometres increased by 0.1 per cent versus March 2012; Group capacity measured in Available Seat Kilometres was down 1.1 per cent.

§ Group premium traffic for the month of March was impacted by timing of Easter and Iberia strikes and decreased by 2.0 per cent compared to the previous year. Non-premium traffic increased by 0.5 per cent.

§ In March, Iberia cabin crew and ground employees' unions went on strike for five consecutive days: Iberia operated approximately 64 per cent of its flights. At a Group level, capacity was impacted by approximately 0.8 per cent.

§ Underlying market conditions remain unchanged from those described at the publication of Quarter Four results on 28th February.

April 4^th, 2013

STRATEGIC DEVELOPMENTS

IAG announced that it plans to convert 18 existing Boeing 787s options into firm orders for British Airways. They will be used to replace some of the airline's Boeing 747-400 aircraft between 2017 and 2021. For Iberia, IAG reached agreement with Boeing to secure commercial terms and delivery slots that could lead to an order for Boeing 787s. Firm orders will only be made when Iberia has restructured and reduced its cost base and is in a position to grow profitably.

On March 27th, it was announced that IAG and Rafael Sánchez-Lozano had decided by mutual agreement that he was stepping down as chief executive of Iberia and from the IAG board with immediate effect. He was replaced by Luis Gallego who was chief executive of Iberia's subsidiary Iberia Express. Luis has joined the Iberia and IAG boards.

On March 27th, IAG announced its decision to increase the offer for Vueling to 9.25 euros per share. In addition, the offer`s minimum acceptance condition was reduced to 1,244,029 of those Vueling voting rights not owned by Iberia, which represents 4.16 per cent of Vueling's share capital. This revised offer has been approved by Spain's National Securities Market Commission (CNMV) and would allow IAG to control Vueling, an airline it believes would be valuable addition to the group.

In March the IAG board and unions representing 93 per cent of Iberia employees both accepted the mediator's proposal on Iberia's transformation plan.

Certain information included in these statements is forward-looking and involves risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include, without limitation, projections relating to results of operations and financial conditions and the Company's plans and objectives for future operations, including, without limitation, discussions of the Company's Business Plan, expected future revenues, financing plans and expected expenditures and divestments. All forward-looking statements in this report are based upon information known to the Company on the date of this report. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

It is not reasonably possible to itemise all of the many factors and specific events that could cause the Company's forward-looking statements to be incorrect or that could otherwise have a material adverse effect on the future operations or results of an airline operating in the global economy. Further information on the primary risks to the Company and its risk management process is given in the Annual Report and Accounts 2011; this document is available on www.iagshares.com.

Group Performance	Month of March			Year to Date
	2013	2012	Change	2013	2012	Change

Passengers Carried ('000s)	4,371	4,223	3.5%	11,772	11,383	3.4%
Domestic (UK & Spain)	844	907	-6.9%	2,344	2,344	0.0%
Europe	1,949	1,757	10.9%	5,055	4,670	8.2%
North America	668	674	-0.9%	1,739	1,743	-0.2%
Latin America & Caribbean	370	394	-6.1%	1,083	1,178	-8.1%
Africa, Middle East & S.Asia	404	366	10.4%	1,174	1,093	7.4%
Asia Pacific	136	125	8.8%	377	355	6.2%

Revenue Passenger Km (millions)	14,087	14,069	0.1%	38,975	39,157	-0.5%
Domestic (UK & Spain)	515	566	-9.0%	1,413	1,482	-4.7%
Europe	2,184	2,109	3.6%	5,764	5,526	4.3%
North America	4,529	4,574	-1.0%	11,811	11,860	-0.4%
Latin America & Caribbean	3,061	3,299	-7.2%	9,020	9,866	-8.6%
Africa, Middle East & S.Asia	2,425	2,262	7.2%	7,161	6,806	5.2%
Asia Pacific	1,373	1,259	9.1%	3,806	3,617	5.2%

Available Seat Km (millions)	17,666	17,855	-1.1%	50,359	51,447	-2.1%
Domestic (UK & Spain)	763	757	0.8%	2,171	2,055	5.6%
Europe	2,936	2,929	0.2%	8,146	8,207	-0.7%
North America	5,356	5,590	-4.2%	15,015	15,637	-4.0%
Latin America & Caribbean	3,694	3,975	-7.1%	10,834	11,706	-7.4%
Africa, Middle East & S.Asia	3,199	3,043	5.1%	9,359	9,173	2.0%
Asia Pacific	1,718	1,561	10.1%	4,834	4,669	3.5%

Passenger Load Factor (%)	79.7	78.8	+0.9 pts	77.4	76.1	+1.3 pts
Domestic (UK & Spain)	67.5	74.8	-7.3 pts	65.1	72.1	-7.0 pts
Europe	74.4	72.0	+2.4 pts	70.8	67.3	+3.5 pts
North America	84.6	81.8	+2.8 pts	78.7	75.8	+2.9 pts
Latin America & Caribbean	82.9	83.0	-0.1 pts	83.3	84.3	-1.0 pts
Africa, Middle East & S.Asia	75.8	74.3	+1.5 pts	76.5	74.2	+2.3 pts
Asia Pacific	79.9	80.7	-0.8 pts	78.7	77.5	+1.2 pts

Cargo and Total Capacity (millions)
Cargo Tonne Km	499	542	-7.9%	1,364	1,482	-8.0%
Total Revenue Tonne Km	1,853	1,879	-1.4%	5,115	5,218	-2.0%
Available Tonne Km	2,537	2,550	-0.5%	7,214	7,342	-1.7%

Overall Load Factor	73.0	73.7	-0.7 pts	70.9	71.1	-0.2 pts


Performance by Airline	Month of March			Year to Date
IBERIA	2013	2012	Change	2013	2012	Change
Revenue Passenger Km (millions)	3,471	4,080	-14.9%	9,674	11,407	-15.2%
Available Seat Km (millions)	4,381	5,032	-12.9%	12,462	14,192	-12.2%
Cargo Tonne Km (millions)	84	113	-25.7%	242	310	-21.9%

BRITISH AIRWAYS
Revenue Passenger Km (millions)	10,616	9,990	6.3%	29,302	27,751	5.6%
Available Seat Km (millions)	13,285	12,824	3.6%	37,897	37,256	1.7%
Cargo Tonne Km (millions)	415	429	-3.3%	1,122	1,172	-4.3%