LONDON (Reuters) – British Airways owner IAG is examining all options to cope with a volatile business environment, but does not need a rights issue for now because it can see bookings recover, its boss said.
Chief Executive Luis Gallego told Reuters the airline was recovering from the turmoil of the pandemic but that in an uncertain environment it would be negligent not to look at different scenarios and how best to address them.
“We don’t have a plan right now to do a rights issue because in the current circumstances that we have, we see the recovery of the business, we see the high level of bookings,” he said in an interview.
“It is true that we are still in an environment of volatility and uncertainty so what we are analysing is what are the scenarios for the business. And always we have in mind that what we want is to maximise shareholders’ value.”
Asked if the group, with 11.7 billion euros ($13 billion) of net debt, would consider asset sales or partnerships with other airlines, he said: “We would be negligent if we don’t analyse all of these scenarios because the world is very uncertain now and we need to analyse all of them.”
He added IAG had not seen any impact on bookings from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and the rerouting of flights to places like Singapore, Pakistan and India to avoid Russian airspace was manageable.
Airline analysts have said the closure of Russian airspace could delay the reopening of routes between Asia and Europe after the pandemic, but Gallego said he did not expect flights to the likes of China or Hong Kong to be restarting soon anyway.
($1 = 0.9010 euros)
(Reporting by Kate Holton; Editing by Mark Potter)
