British Airways owner IAG raises $1.4 billion to ride out travel turmoil

British Airways owner IAG raised 1.2 billion euros ($1.43 billion) in a bond issue it said would help it survive a potentially longer than expected travel downturn.

Airlines are counting on a summer travel reboot after a year of minimal income because of coronavirus restrictions, but rising case numbers in some countries and delays to Europe’s Covid-19 vaccine rollout could derail the recovery.

IAG, which is burning through about 185 million euros a week as a result of the pandemic, has been cutting costs while flying only 20% of its normal capacity.

The owner of Iberia and Vueling in Spain and Aer Lingus in Ireland said last month it had sufficient liquidity to ride out the crisis but would continue to explore new debt options.