Interesting news from the British Airways / IAG Capital Markets Day

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Yesterday was the annual International Airlines Group Capital Markets Day, where IAG gives a public presentation for its bondholders on the performance of BA, Iberia, Vueling and now Aer Lingus.

The slides are made available to all.

On the off-chance that you have something better to do on a Saturday than read 117 slides, here are a few key points:

Keith Williams is to retire as CEO of British Airways next year. He will be replaced by Alex Cruz, who is currently CEO of Vueling, IAG’s Barcelona-based low cost carrier.

The contribution of Avios to cost savings and profit improvement was €20m over budget, partially due to “improved access to capacity”

Total IAG fleet to grow from 483 aircraft today to 578 by 2020

15%-25% of savings from falling fuel prices are expected to be ‘retained’, the remainder will pass through into lower fares

“Every 5 minutes over 6 IAG aircraft depart and AGL issues over 1 million Avios”

“Greater connectivity and choice prompts more IAG relevance across the UK regions – 50% of UK [Avios] collectors now come from the regions”

Total Avios membership of 7 million, of which 5.4 million are in the UK and mainland Europe

“Investor seminar in January to explain [Avios] business fundamentals, future targets and Group accounting” (I look forward to a HFP reader forwarding me the slides from this ….)

Short-haul A320 design (excluding the seats) to be harmonised to allow aircraft to be swapped between BA, Iberia, Vueling and Aer Lingus with no need for additional crew training

Seat configuration of the new A350 aircraft still a secret – see page 77

Wi-fi on 90% of long-haul aircraft by 2019. Wi-fi to be added to short-haul aircraft starting in 2017, no timetable for speed of roll-out.

British Airways short-haul has “returned to profitability” (although this is always a debatable point because no-one knows how BA does – or should – allocate a £2,000 Amsterdam – Heathrow – New York and back fare between short-haul and long-haul)

Short-haul punctuality out of London is better than Ryanair or easyJet

Club World to lose 10% of seats on the Gatwick Boeing 777-200 fleet

First Class to be removed entirely from the Heathrow Boeing 777-200ER fleet

Boeing 787-9 likely to be used to open up new markets in Latin America

The nine ex-Virgin Little Red slots at Heathrow have returned to BA

11 Boeing 787-9 to be delivered in 2016 along with the two A380’s (takes BA to 12 in total)

Johannesburg under serious consideration as a new Iberia long-haul destination

Vueling increasing legroom in rows 1-4 for business class passengers and adding cabin dividers

More, lots more, in the slides if you want it.

How to earn Avios points from UK credit cards

How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (December 2021)

As a reminder, there are various ways of earning Avios points from UK credit cards. Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses!

There are two official British Airways American Express cards with attractive sign-up bonuses:

British Airways BA Amex American Express card

British Airways American Express

5,000 Avios for signing up, no annual fee and an Economy 2-4-1 voucher for spending ….. Read our full review

British Airways BA Premium Plus American Express Amex credit card

British Airways American Express Premium Plus

25,000 Avios and the UK’s most valuable credit card perk – the 2-4-1 companion voucher Read our full review

You can also get generous sign-up bonuses by applying for American Express cards which earn Membership Rewards points, such as:

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 20,000 points, FREE for a year & two airport lounge passes Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express

30,000 points and an unbeatable set of travel 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:

Capital On Tap Business Rewards Visa

The most generous Avios Visa or Mastercard for a limited company 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: