The IAG group has cut the growth forecast for Vueling, the main airline at El Prat airport, due to the lack of a labor agreement with cabin crew. The holding’s CEO, Luis Gallego, advanced in February that the low cost would increase its capacity by 16% by 2023, but conditioned the investment on an agreement with the cabin crew that has not yet been reached.
Now, at the gates of the peak of the summer season, the company chaired by Marco Sansavini continues to negotiate the collective agreement with these workers, who last year began a strike that lasted weeks -concluded on January 31- to demand increases in salary.
“It is important to decide where we invest, especially in a post-covid moment,” Gallego said this Friday during the presentation of IAG’s quarterly results (Iberia, Vueling, British Airways, Level and Air Lingus). The manager has insisted that IAG is willing and ready to promote Vueling with a larger fleet and more staff, but first it needs “stable collective agreements”, that is, “that relate wages to productivity, customer experience and results of the company. When we achieve this, the group will continue to invest in it”, he added.
The president of the airline hopes to reach an agreement with the group of workers throughout the third quarter of the year. The 9% increase in capacity is mainly due to the increase in activity outside the summer season, as part of Vueling’s strategy to deseasonalize the business, and the greater use of its current aircraft fleet. During the first quarter of 2023 the advance has been 13% and for the summer it expects to operate at levels similar to those of the same period of 2019, the year before the pandemic crisis.
In terms of economic results, Vueling registered losses of 64 million euros between January and March, a figure that means cutting the negative result registered during the same period of 2022 by 35.7%, as reported by IAG to the National Market Commission. of Securities (CNMV). In addition, the net result has been in line with the negative 65 million in the first quarter of 2019. The company increased its revenues by 101%, to 523 million euros, compared to one year and 39.1% more than in the first quarter of 2019. The holding has recorded total losses of 87 million euros, 89% less than a year ago (787 million euros), while it entered 5,889 million euros, that is, 71% more than between January and March of last year.
According to IAG, group results have been better than expected across all airlines. In the case of Vueling, due to the strategy of increasing the capacity of leisure destinations in the winter season, which has improved unit income and employment coefficients.
