IAG takes UK Government funds, after British Airways said it wouldn’t as an excuse for job cuts
Links on Head for Points may support the site by paying a commission. See here for all partner links.
The British Airways redundancy saga took a new twist this morning as IAG, BA’s parent company, announced its results for the three months to March.
When British Airways announced its 12,000 redundancies, it was partly pitched as a way of keeping the airline from having to take UK Government funding.
Given that BA’s sister airlines, Iberia and Vueling, have been happy to accept a bailout worth €1.0 billion from the Spanish Government, this always sounded a little odd.
It was revealed this morning, however, that IAG HAS accessed the UK Government’s Coronavirus Corporate Finance Facility. This provided a £300 million bailout in the form of a ‘soft’ loan, underwritten by the UK Government and taxpayers.
For clarity, this is what Alex Cruz said in his statement last week to justify both 12,000 job cuts and the huge salary cuts (over 50% in many cases) proposed for legacy Eurofleet and Worldwide crew members at Heathrow:
There is no Government bailout standing by for BA and we cannot expect the taxpayer to offset salaries indefinitely.
Except, as we said at the time, there was. As IAG has taken the loan directly (it is allowed to do so, even though it is a Spanish company) BA can continue to claim that it is not seeking UK Government funds.
Interestingly, IAG took this money in the second week of April, according to Bloomberg, which means that it was already in the bank when Alex Cruz made his statement about British Airways not getting a bailout.
In a call, Willie Walsh clarified that IAG has never been opposed to accessing government support that is available to “all” companies – although the CCFF is not open to all.
Where this leaves Virgin Atlantic in its attempts to secure UK Government support remain unclear. As a reminder, it is only due to a technicality – that it had no traded bonds in issue before coronavirus struck and so did not have a credit rating – that it cannot take its own bailout from the Coronavirus Corporate Finance Facility.
What else was in the IAG financial results?
I won’t dwell on the financial results for Quarter 1 since they are irrelevant in the scheme of things. These are the key points:
The Group is burning €200 million per week albeit with a €10 billion cash cushion
‘meaningful’ scheduled flights will operate in July, subject to travel restrictions being removed
2019 passenger volumes are not expected to return until 2023
68 aircraft deliveries across the group have been delayed
The group has lost €1.3 billion on its fuel and currency hedging strategy
Outside of the official results statement, it was confirmed that:
IAG is proceeding with its €1 billion acquisition of Spanish airline Air Europa, depending on what conditions are attached by the European Commission (it would give IAG 73% of the Spanish domestic flight market). The purchase agreement contains a mechanism for adjusting the price.
The Letter of Intent to acquire 200 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft remains in place
How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (April 2024)
As a reminder, there are various ways of earning Avios points from UK credit cards. Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses!
In February 2022, Barclaycard launched two exciting new Barclaycard Avios Mastercard cards with a bonus of up to 25,000 Avios. You can apply here.
You qualify for the bonus on these cards even if you have a British Airways American Express card:
Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard
Get 25,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £10,000 Read our full review
Barclaycard Avios Mastercard
5,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £20,000 Read our full review
There are two official British Airways American Express cards with attractive sign-up bonuses:
British Airways American Express Premium Plus
25,000 Avios and the famous annual 2-4-1 voucher Read our full review
British Airways American Express
5,000 Avios for signing up and an Economy 2-4-1 voucher for spending £15,000 Read our full review
You can also get generous sign-up bonuses by applying for American Express cards which earn Membership Rewards points. These points convert at 1:1 into Avios.
American Express Preferred Rewards Gold
Your best beginner’s card – 20,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review
The Platinum Card from American Express
40,000 bonus points and a huge range of valuable benefits – for a fee Read our full review
Run your own business?
We recommend Capital on Tap for limited companies. You earn 1 Avios per £1 which is impressive for a Visa card, along with a sign-up bonus worth 10,500 Avios.
SPECIAL OFFER: Until 12th May 2024, the Capital on Tap Business Rewards Visa card is offering a bonus of 30,000 points, convertible into 30,000 Avios. You must have a Limited Company to apply. Click here to learn more and click here to apply.
Capital on Tap Business Rewards Visa
Huge 30,000 points bonus until 12th May 2024 Read our full review
You should also consider the British Airways Accelerating Business credit card. This is open to sole traders as well as limited companies and has a 30,000 Avios sign-up bonus.
British Airways Accelerating Business American Express
30,000 Avios sign-up bonus – plus annual bonuses of up to 30,000 Avios Read our full review
There are also generous bonuses on the two American Express Business cards, with the points converting at 1:1 into Avios. These cards are open to sole traders as well as limited companies.
American Express Business Platinum
40,000 points sign-up bonus and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review
American Express Business Gold
20,000 points sign-up bonus and FREE for a year Read our full review
Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Avios. This includes both personal and small business cards.
Chrish 
Mervyn Miller 
Sam 
Lady London 
Helmut Schmidt 
Kip 
Kruggs 
AJA 
flight101 
Sam 
Heathrow Flyer 
jamie 
marcw 
Neil 
Mikeact 
Pat 
Ralph 
Adam 
Dan Hodges 
ASA 
Rhys 
Super Fede 
Doug M 
ChrisBCN 
Spaghetti Town 
Crafty 
Comments (133)