Aer Lingus is seeing “some softness” in demand for short-haul business routes, as well as on technology industry-related routes, its parent said as it published first quarter results on Friday.

However, International Airlines Group (IAG), which owns Aer Lingus, noted the airline is “more seasonally exposed” than other airlines in the group, and said it is also seeing “good demand” to European leisure destinations as well as to the United States and the Caribbean.

IAG, which also owns British Airways as well as Spain’s Iberia and Vueling, reported operating profit before exceptional items of €9 million in the three months to the end of March, up from a loss of €718 million in the same period a year earlier and well above the €179 million loss expected by analysts.

The company noted this was the first time since 2019 that it achieved a positive outcome in the first quarter, representing “ongoing strong customer demand across all our airlines”.

It said it benefited from a strong yield performance across the group and lower fuel prices.

“We continue to focus our capacity deployment on our core Latin America and North Atlantic markets, which are now back at pre-pandemic levels of capacity, as well as growing Vueling’s year-round leisure network,” it said.

IAG said the outlook for the summer was “encouraging” with around 80 per cent of expected quarter two revenue now booked.

“We currently expect our full year 2023 operating profit before exceptional items to be higher than the top end of our previous guidance of €1.8 billion to €2.3 billion,” it added.

IAG chief executive Luis Gallego said the company “has delivered a strong first quarter financial performance, as group airlines recovered capacity to close to pre-pandemic levels”.

“Iberia contributed a record first quarter profit and all our airlines performed above expectations, benefiting from robust demand and a lower fuel price in the quarter,” he said.

“We are seeing healthy forward bookings with leisure demand particularly strong while business travel continues to recover more slowly.

“As we return to more normal operations, we continue to invest in sustainability, including more fuel-efficient aircraft, and in customer experience, updating the business cabins for British Airways and Iberia.

“Over the past year we have recruited thousands of new employees across the group and strengthened our operations so that we are ready to deliver for our customers during the summer peak.”

Looking ahead, the company said customer demand currently remains strong in all IAG’s airlines and in all regions, particularly for leisure customers.

“We expect capacity to be around 97 per cent of 2019 levels for the full year, as we focus on our core markets,” it said.

However, it said it remained mindful of a number of uncertainties that currently face the sector, including ongoing volatility in the geopolitical and macroeconomic environment that can have a significant impact on the price of fuel.