IAG confirms post Olympics traffic pick-up

LONDON (AP) International Airlines Group, the parent company of British Airways and Iberia, saw profits soar in the first nine months of the year on the back of an ongoing cost-cutting drive and a pick-up in passenger numbers relative to last year, when the 2012 London Olympics dented traffic.

Operating profit before exceptional items for the nine months through September was 657 million euros ($885 million), compared to 17 million euros in 2012.

The share price spiked 4.5 percent to 365 pence.

CEO Willie Walsh says the London and trans-Atlantic market boosted performance while the troubled Spanish Iberia unit, where costs have been cut, showed growth.

Walsh said Friday there was a 100 million euros boost following the "Olympic effect." Many travelers skipped London last summer amid fears it would be congested.