BA merger partner Iberia 9-mo opg loss 331 mln eur

MADRID Nov 13 (Reuters) - Spanish airline Iberia's IBLA.MC nine-month loss before interest and taxes (EBIT) widened to 330.9 million euros ($496.3 million) from 16.1 million a year ago, confirming the logic of a planned merger with British Airways BAY.L announced late on Thursday.

The figure was steeper than analyst forecasts for a 320 million euro loss [nLA686112].

The airline swung to a net loss of 181.9 million euros in the nine months to September from a 51.1 million euro profit a year ago as the economic crisis continued to dent passenger numbers, Iberia said on Friday.

Iberia said passenger traffic fell by 5.1 percent in October, while load factor -- a measure of how full its planes fly -- stood at 80.6 percent, up from 79.3 percent a year ago.

For a story on Iberia and BA's planned tie-up, click on [nLC092017].

(Reporting by Tracy Rucinski; Editing by Elisabeth O'Leary)