The Spanish carrier Iberia is looking to increase its monthly capacity in two key Latin American destinations, Bogota El Dorado International Airport (BOG) and Lima Jorge Chávez International Airport (LIM).
Colombia - Growing beyond pre-pandemic levels
Iberia believes 2023 will be a year to grow beyond pre-pandemic traffic levels. The airline has recently announced it will add a third daily service four times a week between Madrid Barajas International Airport (MAD) and Bogota next summer. Therefore, Iberia will be able to offer 18 weekly flights between both cities.
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The Spanish flag carrier will operate these flights with its Airbus A350-900 fleet, with a capacity to carry 348 passengers in a three-class configuration (business class, premium economy, and economy class seats). Iberia recently launched a new Airbus A350 cabin with an enhanced design. We will publish that story shortly.
Once Iberia adds these four new flights, the capacity to Bogota will be increased by 80% compared to 2019 levels, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Nonetheless, Iberia has not announced if it will resume the route to Medellín International (MDE). This route, suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic, is the only service the airline has not resumed in the last year.
Peru - back to 2019
Next year, Iberia expects to fully resume its capacity to Lima, Peru. The airline will start offering ten weekly flights between Madrid and Lima on June 5, 2023 (up from seven currently). Once that’s done, the Spanish flag carrier would completely restore its pre-pandemic capacity in this key market.
Iberia would regain its status as the largest airline between these two markets. Currently, LATAM Airlines and Air Europa also offer a daily service between Miami and Lima.
Find the latest South American aviation news here.
Latin America’s importance to Iberia
As of December 2022, Iberia is offering 133 weekly flights between Spain and Latin America & the Caribbean. The airline operates 19 routes between both regions, mostly from Madrid (although it has two services from Barcelona El Prat Airport to Santiago de Chile and Buenos Aires).
Five routes have been increased beyond their pre-pandemic capacity levels. These routes, from Madrid, to Mexico City (+23.5% weekly flight increase), Buenos Aires Ezeiza (+27.3%), San Juan (+33.3%), Bogota (+40%), and Guayaquil (+50%), cover Iberia’s most important destinations in the region.
Last year, Iberia celebrated the 75th anniversary of its first service to Latin America. For the Spanish carrier, this market is extremely important. According to data by Cirium, it is the airline with the second largest number of services to Latin America & the Caribbean, below Air France, with 133 weekly flights (versus 134 from the French flag carrier).
Iberia flies to Bogota, Buenos Aires, Caracas, Guatemala, Guayaquil, Havana, Lima, Mexico City, Montevideo, Panama City, Rio de Janeiro, San Salvador, Santiago de Chile, Santo Domingo, San José, San Juan, São Paulo, and Quito in the region.
Have you had the chance to fly with Iberia between Spain and Latin America? How did you find the experience? Let us know in the comments below.