Not a very good first six months of the year for the airline Iberia who registered a €165.3 million loss compared to a €20.6 million profit for the same period last year.
The results are despite a decrease in fuel costs, down 20.8%, a reduction in staff costs, down 3.7%, and an overall decrease in operating costs of 9.6%.
Turnover was down 18.9% with passenger revenue falling by 20.9% due to declining passenger numbers as a result of the global economic crisis. Sales of business class tickets were particularly badly hit, falling by 30% during the first six months of this year.
Iberia, however, maintain that the company remains financially sound.