"Commentary suggesting forward bookings show no sign of weakness supports the argument that pent up demand for travel still far outweighs the impact of a cost-of-living crisis," Matt Britzman, equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said.
IAG sales, on trips mostly booked out of Britain, Spain and the United States, more than quadrupled to 9.35 billion euros in the first half of the year versus last year. "We've had fast growth in the recovery as you see travel pick up," Diageo CEO Ivan Menezes told analysts on Thursday after the Don Julio tequila and Johnnie Walker whisky maker beat full-year sales expectations.To be sure, Menezes cautioned: "To get back to where we were, it's probably another two years, maybe a bit longer."
Europe's lenders this week also offered some positive surprises on profits, but investors are watching for signs a weaker economy, surging inflation and the war in Ukraine could hit their prospects. Euro zone inflation rose to another record high in July and its peak could still be months away, keeping pressure on the European Central Bank to opt for another big interest rate increase in September.