IAG to buy 140 more efficient aircraft over next five years

Madrid, Jun 15 (EFE).- International Airlines Group (IAG), which includes Iberia and British Airways among its brands, is to buy 140 more efficient aircraft over the next five years, IAG CEO Luis Gallego said Wednesday.

Speaking at the Global Mobility Call being held at Madrid’s Ifema exhibition center, Gallego said the new aircraft for the group, which also includes Aer Lingus, Vueling and Level, are to be 40 percent more efficient.

IAG is to buy 50 Boeing 737s, with an option to purchase another 100, for short-haul operations.

In addition, Gallego detailed that the group has committed an investment of 865 million dollars (826 million euros) to buy sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) with the aim of 60 percent of the fuel used by IAG companies to be sustainable by 2050.

The investment in SAF will enable an emissions reduction equivalent to taking one million gasoline or diesel cars off the road each year.

This is in addition to the 1.6 percent annual emissions reduction that the group has accumulated between 2011 and 2019 through actions such as fleet renewal, the purchase of electric airport vehicles and using lighter seats.

Gallego called for the “right” policies to be made to promote the construction of SAF production plants.

If 30 such plants were installed in Europe, emissions could be reduced by seven million tons per year. EFE

eb/prb/lap