UPDATE 1-BA-owner IAG slashes costs to survive COVID chaos

(Adds background, details)

LONDON, Oct 30 (Reuters) - British Airways-owner IAG
said it was driving down its cost base, with new CEO
Luis Gallego sticking to his predecessor's policy of cutting
employee and supplier costs to survive the deepening travel
slump.

The company also used its quarterly results statement to
call on governments to adopt pre-departure COVID-19 testing to
allow travel during a second wave of infections that is forcing
governments to lock down Europe once again.

IAG said that it had cut cash operating costs by 54% from
original plans to 205 million euros per week during the
July-September period, a move that is key to airline survival
during a winter with very low travel.

"The group has made significant progress on restructuring
and we continue to reduce our cost base," Gallego said in a
statement.

He took over from Willie Walsh in September after the
company secured shareholder backing for a 2.74 billion euro
capital hike to boost its finances during the pandemic.

The airline group, which also owns Iberia, Aer Lingus and
Vueling, was publishing further details on its third quarter
after it announced a worse than expected quarterly loss of 1.3
billion euros last week.

It said the total operating loss for the quarter was 1.9
billion euros including exceptional items relating to fuel
hedges and restructuring costs at British Airways and Aer Lingus
where staff numbers have been cut by 10,000, mostly at BA.

(Reporting by Sarah Young; editing by Kate Holton)