International Airlines Group (IAG) saw premium passenger traffic increase 7.4 per cent in January as the newly created airline got off to a flying start.

Non-premium traffic was also up four per cent year-on-year last month, with only poor weather dampening further improvement.

IAG was created by the merger of British Airways and Iberia.

“Excluding weather impact, we do not see any material change to trend,” said IAG, which is valued at £4.8bn.

“Our long-haul business remains strong, but the short-haul European market continues to be highly competitive.”

Shares in the group rose 1.40p per share to 262p on the market this morning.

International Airline Group

Outside of the traffic figures British Airways also announced it had completed contracts with Rolls-Royce for Trent 900 and Trent 1000 engines to power up to 61 new wide-body aircraft.

The Trent 900 engines will power Airbus A380s, while the Trent 1000s will be fitted to Boeing 787s.

The agreement includes a long-term maintenance and care package for the engines.

Iberia also increased frequencies from Madrid to several long-haul destinations.

It now flies 14 times each week to Mexico City, 13 times each week to Bogota and 11 times each week to Lima.

The airline has also added an extra weekly flight from Madrid to New York, Panama, Quito, Santo Domingo and Sao Paulo.