IAG has issued a statement confirming its plans:
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On 22 December, IAG announced that it plans to set up a next generation longhaul operation in Barcelona from June 2017 using two A330 aircraft. Destinations being considered include Los Angeles, San Francisco, Buenos Aires, Santiago de Chile, Havana and Tokyo. Options for the new operation include setting up a new airline or consider using existing resources from IAG's airlines. No final decision has yet been made.
IAG also topped 100m passengers in 2016:
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International Airlines Group (IAG) carried more than 100 million passengers in 2016, a record for the Group.
In total, Aer Lingus, British Airways, Iberia and Vueling carried 100,675,056 passengers which was up by 14 per cent compared to 2015.
IAG's chief executive, Willie Walsh, said: "This month, IAG celebrates its sixth birthday and our airlines continue to go from strength to strength. Last year we carried more passengers than ever before with our flights 81.6 per cent full.
"In addition, Iberia was the most punctual major global airline in 2016 and its subsidiary Iberia Express was the best performing low cost carrier in the world. Huge credit should be given to the team at Iberia which, following restructuring, has become both financially and operationally stronger".
Group traffic for 2016, measured in Revenue Passenger Kilometres, was up 9.7 per cent while capacity, measured in Available Seat Kilometres, was up 9.4 per cent