British Airways-owner IAG urged planemakers Airbus and Boeing to cut prices for their newest fuel-saving jets to reflect lower energy prices.

The price of oil has more than halved since June last year and IAG’s chief financial officer Enrique Dupuy said that if lower fuel prices persisted, the aircraft makers would need to respond to ensure new jets stayed attractive.

“The manufacturers are going to have to make concessions on their prices for the introduction of the new generation aircraft because if not people are going to be willing to stick to ageing aircraft,” he said at an investor day yesterday.

His message to planemakers came on the eve of the Dubai Airshow which is due to start tomorrow and follows a recent warning from the chief executive of US carrier Delta Air Lines Inc about a surplus of second-hand widebody planes.

Shares in Airbus and Boeing fell following the Delta CEO’s comments in mid-October over concerns about the pair’s ability to command good prices for new aircraft.