Iberia plans towards 2030 with a lot of annoucements and fleet growth

IAG’s Spanish arm – Iberia – is planning a lot for its growth and has presented its plans for the next few years.

Its new blueprint – 2030 Flight Plan – calls for a fair amount of investment, with €6000 million being invested to deliver it.  Let’s break down what they plan to do.

Fleet

Growth is the name of the game, with Iberia intending to increase its long-haul fleet from 45 aircraft to 70 to operate long-haul routes. The airline plans to utilise new A350s, A321XLR and potentially also A330neo from the order IAG announced recently.

In addition, Iberia is going to renew its short and medium-haul fleet. Virtually all old-generation aircraft will be replaced by the new, more efficient and less polluting A320neo and A321neo, in line with its commitment to have net-zero emissions by 2050.

Network

These aircraft are going to need places to fly to, with plans to launch new routes and increased frequencies to existing destinations.

Among the upcoming additions are Toronto (Canada), Philadelphia (USA), and Monterrey (Mexico), which join the recently announced routes to Recife and Fortaleza (Brazil), as well as Orlando (USA).

Iberia will also continue exploring new opportunities, with a focus across the Atlantic.

Improvements at Madrid Terminal 4, with the passenger experience

Iberia is working on improving its customer service, in the background (with further digitisation and personalisation of products), in the sky (with all long-haul aircraft being retrofitted to improve comfort and onboard connectivity, shorthaul to gain a larger luggage bin) and on the ground.

Iberia is also upgrading its premium services on the ground. A new Premium Lounge is already in development at Terminal 4 of Madrid-Barajas Airport, offering more space and elevated comfort for premium travellers.

Support for the growth

To support this growth, Iberia will launch  Ciudad Iberia (Iberia) in La Muñoza, moving its corporate headquarters will be relocated there. Whilst this is good, Iberia will still need people to support this growth, with the airline planning to hire 1000 new hires each year during the 2030 Flight Plan.

In Quotes

Marco Sansavini, President and CEO of Ibera – Image, Iberia

President and CEO Marco Sansavini said:

“Thanks to Iberia’s profound transformation over the last decade and the efforts of all our people, we are now delivering results that allow us to look to the future with confidence and invest €6 billion in our Flight Plan 2030. We want to grow from the current 45 long-haul aircraft to 70 to position Barajas as a major European hub and enhance Spain’s global connectivity.”

In terms of adding staff, he noted

“We expect to hire an average of 1,000 new employees per year throughout the duration of the 2030 Flight Plan. This will multiply the opportunities for professional improvement and development for everyone in the airline,” 

25 new long-haul aircraft is… a leap…

Iberia 2030 Flight Plan is bold – with a major fleet expansion and refresh at the heart of it, along with network growth and people to support it.

Given that it’s part of IAG, I would think this action isn’t being taken unilatry, rather its part of a growth plan for a group – given that IAG’s other “flagship” airline is so slot controlled at Heathrow, whilst its Irish subsidiary is working through the slot restrictions at Dublin Airport.

That just leaves Marid Airport to grow and expand, be it as an Origin and Destination airport, or preferably in IAG’s eyes – a hub for onward connections. That could mean looking away from the Americas for connections (as airlines have done in the past).

This could turn interesting, provided Iberia stays the course and works on the connections experience at Madrid… and it can convince passengers to change at the airport.

Images, Iberia.