Aer Lingus’s parent company International Airlines Group (IAG) said its operating profit increased by 17.3% last year to a record €5 billion (£4.4bn) - up from €4.3bn (£3.8bn) in 2024.
The company attributed its “record financial performance” to “long-term demand growth in our core markets and constrained supply in a consolidating industry”.
IAG said its available seat kilometres – a measure of its capacity – grew by 2.4% in 2025.
It stated that British Airways’ margin was 15.2%, adding: “Our margins, as in previous years, continue to be significantly better than those of our global competitors.”
IAG expects to raise its capacity by about 3% this year.
In November 2025, IAG chief executive Luis Gallego warned of a potential softening of demand for transatlantic flights in economy cabins, but said on Friday the company has “seen an improvement in the trend over the last few months in North Atlantic trading, particularly in the case of BA (British Airways)”.
IAG recorded revenue growth of 3.5%, which Mr Gallego said was “driven by the strength of our brand and the successful execution of our strategy”.
British Airways made an operating profit of £2.2bn, up from £2bn in 2024.
Its passengers numbers increased by 0.4% from 46.2 million to 46.3 million.
Irish airline Aer Lingus achieved an operating profit of €282m (£247m), an increase from €205m (£179m) a year earlier.
Passenger numbers at the carrier rose 2.9% from 11.0 million to 11.3 million.
IAG, which also owns the Iberia, Vueling and Level airlines, said the group carried 121.6 million passengers in 2025, down 0.4% from 122.0 million in 2024.
