BA boss says rich holidaymakers to make up for fall in business-class demand

British Airways CEO Sean Doyle believes that the company’s investment in refurbishing premium cabins will pay off with wealthy holiday makers buying premium seats.

Doyle said he believed corporate travel would return after the coronavirus pandemic, “but exactly what shape that takes we’re not sure”.

He was also confident the flag carrier’s £6.5bn investment in refurbishing its business-class cabins, seats and lounges since 2018 had been worth it.

“The reason we’re very compelled by the investments is we have a significant premium leisure segment,” he told an industry webinar.

“A lot of people who travel in our premium cabins are travelling for leisure, or visiting friends or relatives.

“That’s been growing over the last decade and we think that will continue to grow – and that gives us a very effective buffer if the corporate segment is not recovering at the pace of other segments.”

Doyle said he was optimistic about the airline industry’s recovery, especially after the EU announced that US tourists would be welcome into Europe this summer if they had been vaccinated.

Given the high rates of vaccination in the UK and US, he said: "I think the US is a great opportunity to get up and running again [...] Opening up an air corridor is something that can be easily achieved if we have the will on both sides of the pond."

As of 1051 BST, shares of IAG were drifting lower by 0.07% to 204.85p.