Spanish Oneworld carrier Iberia slid to a €400,000 ($617,000) first quarter net loss, after spiralling fuel costs hampered it from matching its €12.2 million net profit for the first quarter of 2007.

Between January and March Iberia’s operating revenues fell fractionally to €1.3 billion, but its costs were 2.5% up at €1.33 billion, causing its EBITDAR to drop 29% to €124 million.

The Spanish firm swung to a €28 million EBIT loss from a €13 million profit. Operating losses for the quarter stood at €6.6 million, down from a €14 million operating profit.

Iberia says the operating loss was driven by €66.8 million in additional fuel costs. But despite the increased fuel expenditure, Iberia’s capped its total cost increase to €31.4 million.

It says: “The restructuring of the flight network and th

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