Iberia cannot take another year of losses, may not have funds to finance restructure: CEO

Iberia cannot take another year of losses and may not even have the funds to finance its restructuring, according to CEO Rafael Sánchez-Lozano and as reported by Hosteltur. Mr Sánchez-Lozano said now is the time "to sit down and negotiate...we are not in a condition to wait another year". Mr Sánchez-Lozano reportedly declined to mention the specific cost of the carrier's restructuring, but noted the figure is in the "hundreds of millions", while adding "at the rate that we're eating through cash, we will have problems financing it". Discussing the carrier's costs, Mr Sánchez-Lozano noted that Iberia's maintenance costs are 27% higher than competitors, staff productivity is 20% lower, only eight of 24 longhaul routes and two of 40 domestic routes are profitable.