Company has already slashed cash operating costs by 54 percent during July-September ahead of a winter with very little travel LONDON: The new boss of British Airways-owner IAG warned he may have to strip even more costs from the business as a second wave of COVID-19 leaves its airlines staring at a bleak winter with very little travel. Forecasting fourth-quarter capa- city at just 30 percent of 2019 levels, IAG also stepped up its demand for governments to adopt pre-departure testing to allow quarantine-free travel as Europe locks down once again. “Talking about my priorities, I think first of all we need to continue with the restructuring process that we have in place, we need to continue reducing our cost base,” Luis Gallego told reporters as he hosted his first quarterly results. IAG said that it had cut cash operating costs by 54 percent from original plans to €205 million ($242 million) per week during July-September, a vital move ahead of a winter with very low travel. Gallego said that he was looking to make more of IAG’s costs variable, rather than fixed, which could mean, for example, more flexible working contracts for staff. He is being forced to act after France and Germany imposed new blanket lockdown measures. Any similar moves in Britain and Spain, IAG’s key markets, would spell further trouble for the group’s prospects.