Business travel boost for ICAG

International Consolidated Airlines Group said profit doubled in the first year of its formation via a merger of British Airways and Spain’s Iberia, spurred by demand for business travel on BA’s North Atlantic routes.

ICAG had an operating profit of €485m last year, compared with a pro forma €225m in 2010, the London-based company said in a statement yesterday. That surge masked losses at Iberia, which has its hub in Madrid.

Corporate traffic on money-spinning routes to the US has held up even as European economies contract, while ICAG also plans to add more services to emerging markets from London’s Heathrow airport after completing the $275m (€206m) takeover of Deutsche Lufthansa’s BMI unit to add operating slots.