European airlines have been buoyed by premium demand across the North Atlantic, a sector-wide trend in which affluent travellers continue to spend even as U.S. demand for economy fares has softened

International News via Reuters:

British Airways owner IAG reported better-than-expected annual profit on Friday, helped by lower fuel costs and demand strength on core transatlantic routes and in premium cabins.

Still, its shares were down 6% at 1127 GMT, with some analysts disappointed by a lack of profit guidance for this year and worried about potentially higher fuel prices.

European airlines have been buoyed by premium demand across the North Atlantic, a sector-wide trend in which affluent travellers continue to spend even as U.S. demand for economy fares has softened.  

IAG has been a European leader in recent years thanks to strengthened transatlantic links in North and South America. However, price-sensitive travellers have pulled back against a backdrop of tariff-related uncertainty and shifting U.S. demand signals. 

The group warned in November of weakness in the economy segment of the transatlantic market, sending its share price lower.

“Since Q3 we have seen a rebound,” Chief Executive Luis Gallego told a media call, adding that premium and corporate demand were performing particularly well at British Airways and that bookings for the first quarter of 2026 were strong. 

The shares have since recovered, but IAG has lost top spot for share-price growth to Air France-KLM, shares in which have jumped by 50% in the past year. IAG shares are up 36% over the same period.

Other European carriers are also benefiting from robust demand at the top end of the market, with Lufthansa rolling out new premium seats and Air France-KLM enhancing premium products through upgraded cabins, lounges and onboard services.

IAG reported operating profit before exceptional items of 5.02 billion euros ($5.93 billion), slightly ahead of the 4.97 billion euros forecast by analysts polled by LSEG and up 13% year on year.

The company said on Thursday that it would return 1.5 billion euros to shareholders over the next 12 months, starting with a 500 million euro share buyback to be completed by the end of May.

It added that it expected capacity growth of about 3%, with no delivery delays projected from planemakers Airbus and Boeing. 

Finance chief Nicholas Cadbury told reporters there was still little visibility for the second and third quarters, explaining why the group did not provide a more detailed outlook, and there was some weakness in the Africa and Middle East region. 

($1 = 0.8462 euros)

Reporting by Joanna Plucinska in London and Raechel Thankam Job in Bengaluru. Editing by David Goodman and Mark Potter

It was a direct challenge to the governing Labour Party of British Prime Minister Keir Starmer

International News via Reuters:

Hannah Spencer’s victory speech on becoming the Greens’ fifth lawmaker on Friday barely touched on the environmental issues that have defined the party, instead attacking “billionaires” profiting from Britain’s working class.

It was a direct challenge to the governing Labour Party of British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, criticised by some on the left of his movement for abandoning the party’s traditional socialist values to fight a threat from the populist Reform UK.

The landslide victory of the Greens in a so-called by-election in northwest England’s Greater Manchester has emboldened the voices calling for Starmer to abandon a strategy of tracking to the right on issues such as tackling illegal immigration to fight Brexit veteran Nigel Farage’s Reform.

And while governing parties almost always lose by-elections when voters often air their anger, the thumping defeat could empower those on the left to again challenge Starmer after an attempt earlier this month to force his resignation failed.

STARMER STRATEGY NEEDS TO CHANGE, UNION SAYS

The head of UNISON, Britain’s biggest trade union which is a large Labour donor, said Starmer was “reaping the electoral consequences” of his strategy in the election for a lawmaker to represent the voting area of Gorton and Denton in parliament.

“A Labour government should be standing up for workers, defending migrants and refugees, and taking the fight to Nigel Farage rather than letting him set the agenda,” UNISON general secretary Andrea Egan said in a statement.

“Under Keir Starmer the party is failing on every count, leaving the Greens to fill the vacuum. Cosying up to the rich and powerful, and protecting their interests whilst attacking ordinary working people and the left has singularly failed.”

Richard Burgon, a leftist Labour lawmaker who is a member of the Socialist Campaign Group in parliament, said on X the result “means ditching the approach of trying to ape Reform and kicking the left”, adding the strategy had “alienated so many people who have voted Labour previously”.

Labour was forced into third place in the election, which saw the Greens win with 40.7% of the vote and Reform take second place with 28.7%.

One centre-left Labour lawmaker described the Greens’ victory as “ultimately the worst possible outcome”.

“Now we can’t say we’re the best placed to beat Reform,” the lawmaker said on condition of anonymity.

GREENS CHALLENGING LABOUR ON THE LEFT

The sentiment was not lost on the Green Party, whose origins were in environmental campaigning but which has widened its policy offer to directly challenge Labour on the left.

Spencer’s victory speech was aimed directly at “people here … who feel left behind and isolated”, those who “instead of working for a nice life, we’re working to line the pockets of billionaires”.

She also criticised the “divisive figures who constantly scapegoat and blame our communities for all the problems in society”, promising to fight for “my Muslim friends”, a large population in the area which the Greens appeared to win over with a promise to better support Palestinians in Gaza.

Some Labour lawmakers said the Gaza message had led to abuse on the campaign trail over the party’s stance on the war, with some accusing them of being complicit in what the Greens say is the genocide of Palestinians.

The government says it is up to the international courts to determine whether genocide has occurred in Gaza, instead calling the situation a “humanitarian catastrophe”. Israel has strongly denied allegations of genocide.

Zack Polanski, leader of the Greens, denied that his party had played to racism during the campaign, telling BBC radio it was “calling out the bad decisions of this prime minister”.

Sharon Graham, head of the powerful Unite trade union, said the result was a “wake up call”.

“Labour need to now ditch the gimmicks and get back to being Labour – not new, not one that plays games, but real Labour,” she said on X.

Reporting by Elizabeth Piper; Additional reporting by William James and Sarah Young; Editing by Alison Williams

Mandelson, 72, was released from custody after London’s Metropolitan Police arrested him on Monday on suspicion of misconduct in public office, following revelations over his ties to Jeffrey Epstein

International News via Reuters:

Britain’s government has agreed a framework with the police on which documents relating to the late 2024 appointment of former ambassador to the United States Peter Mandelson can be released, the committee in charge of the disclosures said on Thursday.

Mandelson, 72, was released from custody after London’s Metropolitan Police arrested him on Monday on suspicion of misconduct in public office, following revelations over his ties to Jeffrey Epstein.

Mandelson’s relationship with Epstein is at the centre of a British political scandal that has prompted calls for Prime Minister Keir Starmer to step down.

Starmer sacked Mandelson from what is considered the most prestigious posting in Britain’s diplomatic service in September, when the depth of his friendship with the convicted sex offender started to become clear.

COMMITTEE TO PUBLISH DOCUMENTS INDEPENDENTLY

Material about the vetting and appointment of Mandelson is currently being received by the Cabinet Office from across government, and it is hoped some of it will be published shortly, the Intelligence and Security Committee said.

It added that the committee had the final say on which documents can be made public, not Starmer’s office or anyone else in government.

“With that fundamental point now agreed, the committee now expects officials to revert to the committee on the practicalities around how documents will be referred to the committee and to inform the committee as to when we can expect to receive the first tranche of documents and how many there will be,” it said.

A government spokesperson said in a separate statement that it was working closely with the committee and had made progress on a number of requests.

“We are proceeding at pace to publish the first tranche of documents in early March,” the spokesperson said.

EU ANTI-FRAUD OFFICE ALSO REVIEWING CONDUCT

The European Union’s anti-fraud office OLAF said on Thursday that it was looking into Mandelson’s actions while he was serving in Brussels as British commissioner for trade between 2004 and 2008, following a request from the European Commission.

OLAF stressed that examining the matter did not mean a formal investigation had been opened and that it respected the presumption of innocence.

Mandelson’s lawyers did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

His arrest in Britain means police suspect a crime has been committed but it does not imply any guilt. His homes in London and west England were searched by police earlier this month.

Emails between Mandelson and Epstein, released by the U.S. Department of Justice in late January, showed the two men had a closer relationship than had been publicly known, and Mandelson had shared information with the financier when he was a minister in former Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s government in 2009.

Mandelson – key to the Labour Party’s success when Tony Blair was prime minister – has previously said he very deeply regretted his association with Epstein. But he has not commented publicly or responded to messages seeking comment on the latest revelations.

Following his arrest, his lawyers released a statement saying his apprehension stemmed from a “baseless suggestion” that he intended to leave the country and settle abroad.

Last week, King Charles’ younger brother Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was also arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office over separate allegations he sent confidential government documents to Epstein. He has always denied any wrongdoing.

Reporting by Sam Tabahriti in London and Sudip Kar-Gupta in Brussels; Editing by Hugh Lawson and Toby Chopra