DALLAS - Spanish flag carrier Iberia (IB) has launched a new expansion in the Latin American market by introducing new frequencies to essential destinations from its central hub in Madrid (MAD).

The airline has already confirmed that it has surpassed its capacity levels reported before the COVID-19 pandemic and is very optimistic about the stability of the transatlantic air travel demand between the Spanish-speaking countries of South America and Spain.

This announcement comes less than two weeks after its competitor Air Europa (UX) also revealed plans to increase its presence in the countries of Colombia, Panama, and Venezuela ahead of the start of the winter season in the Northern Hemisphere, from October 28, 2023.

Until March 30, Iberia will see a 14% increase in flights between the two regions, reaching 300 weekly flights and allowing the carrier to reinforce its position as the leading operator of flights between Europe and Latin America, with more than 100 direct and indirect destinations on the contin

More Frequencies in Winter

In the eyes of Iberia, the winter season will start as soon as September this year, as the airline will increase flights to Lima (LIM) and Caracas (CCS) up to 13 and 5 weekly connections from Madrid, respectively. Flights to Rio de Janeiro (GIG) will also see the addition of one more service, resulting in four-weekly arrivals in the Brazilian city.

The most significant expansion will occur in the rest of the Spanish-speaking territories of Latin America, like Colombia, Chile, Puerto Rico, República Dominicana, and Ecuador, where IB aims to deploy a 14% larger capacity than in 2019, consolidating its leadership against other local carriers.

To deal with the capacity increase, the airline constantly receives new long-haul aircraft, especially Airbus A350 units, both directly from Airbus and dry-leased, and two from Chinese carrier Hainan (HU).

IB has adjusted its Airbus A330 fleet recently with the retrieval of two units from its IAG low-cost partner LEVEL and expects to take delivery of two second-handed A330s previously operated by Air Europa (UX) and Virgin Australia (VA). The latest will be the only airframe of the fleet fitted with Rolls Royce Trent 700 engines.

Great Connectivity With Europe & Middle East

Passengers flying from Latin America to MAD will not only have the opportunity to end their journey in Spain but now have even more possibilities to connect onward to new destinations in Europe and the Middle East, recently launched by Iberia.

Between December 2 and February 10, the airline will operate special two-weekly flights to Rovaniemi, the capital city of the Finnish region of Laponia and home of Santa Claus, which sees a large wave of tourists during Christmas holidays from Southern Europe.

Additionally, two new destinations in the Middle East have been added by IB in the last month, including Cairo (CAI), the high-demanded leisure destination of Egypt, as well as new direct flights to Doha-Hamad Airport (DOH), starting from December 1, and opening the doors of Asia and the Pacific to Iberia travelers with the help of Qatar Airways (QR).

https://airwaysmag.com/la-munoza-iberias-maintenance-center/

Featured image: Adrian Nowakowski/Airways.