Aer Lingus Reports Q3 Operating Profit of €139 million
Aer Lingus has posted its first operating profit since the Covid-19 pandemic. Their Quarter 3 2022 performance published this week reflects a strong bounce back in leisure demand following the ending of travel restrictions. The company’s third-quarter results showed an operating profit of €139 million, encouraging progress after a loss of €95m in the first 6 months of the year. However, the Aer Lingus profit for the quarter was below the equivalent quarter in 2019.
Commenting on the results, CEO Lynne Embleton said: “We anticipated the return of demand for leisure travel once Covid restrictions were removed and planned an ambitious summer schedule which delivered a much-needed strong summer after a difficult two years. There was a strong resumption in outbound and inbound leisure travel this summer as we operated almost 90% of our 2019 levels of capacity. We are now entering the winter season – a period where non-leisure bookings made closer to the day of travel are more important.
“The Q3 profitability is welcome as Aer Lingus begins the process of both repairing the balance sheet and repaying the significant debt that has been taken on. While there is much to build on, we are conscious that global and geopolitical forces causing higher oil prices, exchange rate fluctuation and rising interest rates continue to substantially increase the cost base of airlines.”
She went on to say: “We believe that the progress we’ve made in Q3 and our view of the remainder of the year will bring Aer Lingus to a position of small profitability for the full year, which would be considerably below the full year profitability seen in 2019.”
By comparison, Aer Lingus achieved an operating profit of €274.9 million in 2019. Across the IAG group of airlines, there was a Q3 operating profit of €1.2 billion before exceptionals. British Airways was the strongest performer with an operating profit of €411 million, followed by Vueling at €259 million and Iberia at €246 million.
IAG chief executive Luis Gallego says: ”All our airlines were significantly profitable and we are continuing to see strong passenger demand, while capacity and load factors recover. Leisure demand is particularly healthy and leisure revenue has recovered to pre-pandemic levels. Business travel continues to recover steadily.”
About the Author
Mark Dwyer Mark is an airline pilot flying the Boeing 737 for a major European airline. In addition he is also a Type Rating Instructor, Type Rating Examiner and Base Training Captain on the B737. Outside of commercial flying Mark enjoys flying light aircraft from the smallest 3 Axis microlights up to heavier singles. He is also an instructor and EASA Examiner on single engines and a UK CAA Examiner. He flies the Chipmunk for the Irish Historic Flight Foundation (IHFF). Mark became the Chairman of the National Microlight Association of Ireland (NMAI) in 2013 and has overseen a massive growth in the organisation. In this role he has worked at local and national levels. In 2015, Mark won ‘Upcoming Aviation Professional Award’ at the Aviation Industry Awards sponsored by the IAA. Mark launched this website back in 2002 while always managing the website, he has also been Editor and Deputy Editor of FlyingInIreland Magazine from 2005 to 2015.
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