Aer Lingus carried 11,339,000 passengers in 2025 and recorded an operating profit of €282m for full year 2025, which rose by €77m from full year 2024. Revenue was €2,529m and margin 11.1pc.
The airline achieved operating profits of €135m in Q2 and €170m in Q3 2025. Aer Lingus increased overall capacity by 6.6pc and passenger numbers by almost 3pc in 2025 compared to 2024.
Transatlantic capacity to North America grew by 7.4pc with new routes to Indianapolis and Nashville. Aer Lingus took delivery of Airbus A321XLR aircraft and partnered with Starlink for free Wi-Fi on long-haul services.
IAG group operating profit increased by 17.3pc to a record €5.0bn (£4.4bn), up from €4.3bn in 2024. Revenue grew by 3.5pc to reach €33.2bn. vOperating margin expanded to 15.1pc (a 1.3 percentage point increase).
IAG announced a €1.5bn return of excess cash to shareholders over the next 12 months. Net debt fell to €5.9bn, significantly improving the group’s financial leverage. Operational Performance British Airways achieved a strong margin of 15.2pc.
Total capacity (measured in available seat kilometres) grew by 2.4pc in 2025. On-time performance rose by 4.6 percentage points to 82.4pc.
IAG confirmed it is monitoring the sale of Portuguese carrier TAP for potential acquisition if the terms are favourable. The group announced a fleet-wide partnership with SpaceX’s Starlink to provide high-speed Wi-Fi, starting with British Airways in March 2026. The company remains “positively positioned for 2026,” citing robust travel demand in core markets and benefits from lower fuel costs.
In 2025, the Group took delivery of 25 new aircraft from Airbus and Boeing: 13 for British Airways, 7 for Iberia, and 5 for Aer Lingus. The Group also took delivery of nine used Airbus A320neo aircraft direct from aircraft lessors for Vueling, partly to backfill additional aircraft maintenance requirements linked to the Pratt & Whitney ‘GTF’ engines issue.
The annual accounts value the brand at €110m, compared with €306m for Iberia, and an intangible good will value of €272m.
Lynne Embleton shared “2025 was a strong year for Aer Lingus. We reinforced our North Atlantic leadership and accelerated our transformation, with digital innovation, operational excellence and network expansion enabling us to deliver a 11.1pc operating margin despite a significant increase in competitor capacity.”
“As we enter our 90th anniversary year, we are operating our largest ever transatlantic summer schedule, strengthening connectivity to, through and beyond Ireland. Continued investment in next-generation aircraft and new technology, including our partnership with Starlink, underpins our focus on sustainable growth, enhanced service for our customers and long-term competitiveness. Urgent resolution of the passenger cap issue is required from Government- it is imperative to now immediately enact legislation which will enable the Minister for Transport to remove the passenger cap and provide the certainty that is required for the Irish economy.”
“Looking ahead to the remainder of 2026, we will continue to focus on efficiency, productivity and making investments to improve operating margin and to realise Aer Lingus’ full potential.”
Luis Gallego shared “We reported another year of exceptional performance in 2025, delivering for our customers with continued improvements in ontime performance and customer satisfaction. This sector-leading operational performance is translating into world-class financial results, with outstanding margins and superior return on capital. “Execution of our strategy and transformation programme is creating value for shareholders, with adjusted EPS growth of 22.4% and, in line with our disciplined capital allocation framework, we have grown the dividend per share by 8.9% and are announcing today a further return of excess cash of €1.5 billion. We are confident as we look to the future, with compelling market dynamics, long-term secular growth and a clear plan to leverage our business model and deliver our strategy. I want to thank all of our employees across IAG for their hard work and dedication, and I look forward to a year of further success in 2026.”
