Iberia obtained a 978 million euro operating result between January and September, which represents a 9% decline compared with the 1,074 million from the same period of the previous year, weighed down by higher fuel costs and various operational disruptions.
After the start of the conflict in the Middle East, the airline decided to redirect part of its capacity that previously went to the Asian region toward Japan, Latin America, the North Atlantic, and the Spanish archipelagos, according to the latest results report published by its parent company IAG.
In the first nine months of the financial year, the capacity of the Spanish company, measured in available seat-kilometres (ASK), increased by 2.4%. During that period, it carried 18.7 million passengers, a figure practically identical to that of the previous year, with an occupancy factor of 88.3%, just 0.3 points lower.
During the summer, Iberia’s operating profit fell by 11.3% in the third quarter, to 452 million euros, with an operating margin of 19.6%. However, revenue rose to 2,299 million euros, representing a 7% increase compared with the 2025 summer campaign.
In analyzing these results, its chairman and chief executive officer, Marco Sansavini, emphasized in a message on Linkedin that IAG and Iberia have managed to partially offset the effect of higher fuel prices thanks to the hedging policy, the solid performance of revenue, the efficiency initiatives of the Flight Plan 2030, and cost control.
"In the difficult current environment, for us it is especially important to have been able to maintain, thanks to these results, the investments that allow us to move forward in improving the experience of our customers, as well as continuing to generate development opportunities for our people," he also assessed.
In this context, Sansavini reviewed some recent milestones, such as the introduction of new aircraft to the fleet, the opening of the Premium Emerald lounge in T4 of the Madrid-Barajas airport --with an “excellent” reception-- and the gradual deployment of Starlink wifi on all aircraft, a service that will be available on a large part of Iberia’s fleet in April 2027.
17% drop in profit at Vueling
For its part, Vueling, another of the Spanish airlines integrated into IAG, recorded an operating profit of 303 million euros up to September, 17.4% less than in 2025. This decline is explained, mainly, by greater competitive pressure on European short-haul routes and on North Atlantic links from Dublin, a situation similar to the one facing Aer Lingus.
In the first nine months of the year, its capacity fell by 1.7%, while the number of passengers carried reached 29.3 million, a slight increase of 0.3%. The load factor stood at 91.9%, which implies an improvement of 1.4 percentage points.
The company is also affected by the delay in the first deliveries of the Boeing 737, initially expected for the end of 2026, within its fleet renewal plan to replace the current Airbus with models from the American manufacturer.
In the other airlines in the IAG group, British Airways and Aer Lingus also recorded profit declines over the period’s cumulative total. British Airways obtained 1,493 million pounds (1,788 million euros), 8.8% less, while Aer Lingus earned less than half than a year earlier, with 108 million euros.
Lastly, the operating profit of IAG Loyalty advanced by 17.7%, to 391 million pounds (468 million euros), reflecting the boost to the loyalty business, supported by an increase in agreements with non-airline partners. By contrast, the holidays division recorded a setback compared with the first nine months of 2025, due above all to the impact of the conflict in the Middle East.