A member of the European airline conglomerate known as IAG - or International Airlines Group
- Spanish carrier Iberia has over 80 aircraft in its mainline fleet with more on the way.
Established back in 1927, the airline will soon be 100 years old and primarily connects Europe
with North America and South America. Today, we examine the carrier’s fleet as it stands in 2023.
At the time of this video’s production, Iberia’s all-Airbus
mainline fleet consists of the following types and quantities according to Planespotters.net.
6 A319-100s 13 A320-200s
15 A320neos 11 A321-200s
16 A330-200s 8 A330-300s
And finally, we have 16 of the airline’s flagship type: The A350-900.
The oldest aircraft in the mainline fleet are the A321s, which are, on average,
close to 20 years old. The youngest type flying for Iberia is its A350,
a fleet that is a little less than 3 years of age on average.
While we will only examine Iberia’s mainline fleet in greater detail, it’s worth mentioning
that the airline has two regional subsidiaries in the form of Iberia Express and Iberia Regional.
Based in Madrid, Iberia Express is Iberia’s low-cost regional brand that operates select
short-haul services across Europe. Launch in 2011 by parent company IAG,
the intention was to operate Iberia Express as a feeder airline for Iberia, particularly on
less profitable routes. This is currently carried out with the airline’s 24 Airbus A320neo family
aircraft and includes 14 A320-200s, 4 A321-200s, and even six A321neos, with more on the way.
As for Iberia Regional, this is an airline brand name that primarily
covers domestic flights within Spain which feed into Iberia’s main network.
We call Iberia Regional a brand name since its flights are actually carried out by other airlines
with their own operator certificates. These include MelAir and Air Nostrum,
and consist of aircraft types like the ATR72 and Bombardier CRJ series.
Finally, to make things just a little more complicated, we also have to mention that
Iberia’s mainline fleet numbers include four A330-200s flying under the LEVEL
brand. This is Iberia’s long-haul low-cost airline subsidiary based in Barcelona,
with service to a handful of cities in North and South America.
But getting back to the mainline Iberia fleet, its flagship Airbus A350-900 is
the crown jewel of operations. Flying as far away as Lima (Peru), Santiago (Chile),
and Los Angeles, this aircraft type is tasked with operating many of Iberia’s longer services.
Mexico City is perhaps the most popular destination for Iberia, and the airline proves
this by deploying 3 Airbus A350 services daily to the Mexican capital, from its hub in Madrid!
Iberia seems to be quite pleased with the A350. The airline initially ordered 16, but
this was increased to 20 by 2022. At the moment, Planespotters.net data indicates that the airline
is apparently expecting another six in addition to its current 16 - making for a total of 22.
While some of these yet-to-be-delivered aircraft will come brand new, direct from Airbus,
we can see that two A350s will come as leases that were previously under the care of Hainan Airlines.
While the airline is pleased with the A350s, not everyone working for the carrier seems to
be fully in-love with the type - particularly its large and spacious overhead baggage compartments.
In November 2022, we reported that a group of flight attendant unions filed a lawsuit
against the airline. The unions demanded that Iberia refrain from requiring flight attendants
to close the A350’s large compartments. And while a judge dismissed the request,
the airline was ordered to limit the weight of carry-on luggage instead. For reference,
Iberia allows passengers seated in economy and premium economy to bring a carry-on
bag at a maximum of 22 lb (10 kg), while business class passengers can bring up to
two bags at a maximum of 30 lb (14 kg) depending on the length of the flight.
The court also ruled that Iberia is to ensure that two crew members
are present to close a bin if any flight attendants are 5 ft 3in (1.63 m) or shorter.
Overhead compartment legal issues aside, Iberia’s A350s and their cabins have been
getting makeovers in recent months. It was in December 2022 that the carrier
unveiled a refurbished interior for the A350 - affecting all classes of travel.
Indeed, all cabin classes have been upgraded, with business class receiving the largest upgrades.
Business class passengers and their new seats will have more privacy with a door for each
seat and dividers between other passengers. The overhead bins have been removed from the middle
section as well, giving the cabin an “airier” feel - although this comes at a cost to storage space.
In premium economy, passengers have a little more privacy with the addition
of fixed wings on either side of the seat. The wings also provide a fixed
point for passengers’ heads to rest against whilst sleeping.
Finally, in both premium economy and economy,
passengers will have new, larger inflight entertainment screens.
Screens are 1 inch larger, in premium economy (13 inches). While it’s a 2-inch increase in economy,
up to 12. Notably, this is one of the largest screens found in economy class to date.
While Iberia’s A350s typically steal the spotlight, its Airbus
A330 fleet continues to reliably operate long-haul services for the airline as well.
Flying to destinations in North and South America,
if a long-haul route isn’t utilizing the A350, it’s most certainly being operated by an A330.
Interestingly, Iberia’s A330 fleet is relatively young, despite all being from
the previous generation of A330 aircraft. In fact, the A330s flying for LEVEL are between
4 and 5 years of age while other mainline Iberia A330s are between 5 and 10 years old.
Considering the first A330neo that entered service is now about five yeard old,
we can see that Iberia took delivery of some of Airbus’ very last A330ceos ever produced.
It’s also interesting that Iberia has given up some of its older A330-200s.
This was the result of a deal struck with the Spanish Ministry of Defence,
which acquired three Iberia Airbus A330s for conversion to a MRTTs (Multi-Role Tanker
Transports). The deal was struck in July 2021 and was valued at €675 million ($768.5 million).
When it comes to Iberia’s future fleet,
we will eventually see the carrier add the A321XLR to its aircraft collection.
In 2019, IAG signed an order with Airbus to acquire 14 Airbus A321XLRs with purchase
options for an additional 14 units. IAG said eight of these long-range narrowbodies
would go to Iberia, while the remaining six would go to Ireland’s Aer Lingus.
Deliveries were initially scheduled for this year, and Iberia said last year that
it expected its first A321XLR to arrive by the end of 2023. However, perhaps unsurprisingly,
Airbus has had to adjust the A321XLR’s schedule. The aircraft, now conducting its flight test
campaign, hopes to secure Type Certification in 2023, and entry into service in 2024.
While the A321XLR will enable Iberia to operate
new transatlantic destinations and increase frequencies in key markets,
we’re not sure where, exactly, the airline will deploy these long-range aircraft.
And finally, let’s take a look back at Iberia’s recently “departed” aircraft:
Its fleet of Airbus A340s. While the airline had also operated the Boeing 747,
these jets are long gone - having been retired in the early 2000s. The A340s, however,
only left the airline as recently as 2020. On August 24th, 2020, Iberia said goodbye
to its last A340 - an end to nearly 24 years of operations with the type.
The airline initially said that its last five A340-600s were to retire in 2025. However,
the pandemic turned Iberia’s plans upside down, and led to an abrupt end to A340 operations.
The final Iberia A340-600 was registered EC-JLE and joined the fleet in September of 2005,
making it just under 15 years old at the time of retirement.
Iberia had a total of 14 A340-600s in the fleet,
which flew to destinations as closeby as London and as far away as Santiago.
The first Iberia A340-300 joined the airline in 1996, replacing the aging 747-200 and expanding
the airline's fleet. The A340-600 first entered service with the carrier in 2003.
The A340 was a significant part of Iberia's fleet and was the airline's
only long-haul aircraft until the addition of the A330s and A350s.
While many of these four-engine aircraft have since been scrapped, we know that
three A340-600s made their way to UK-based freight and logistics company European Cargo.
The ex-Iberia jets join other A340s that were previously operated by Virgin Atlantic and Etihad.
So, there’s your look at the fleet of Iberia in 2023. The airline has clearly streamlined
its operations by deciding to operate all-Airbus aircraft. It will be exciting
to see what new destinations are offered with the new A321XLRs, once they arrive next year.
But what do you think of Iberia’s all-Airbus fleet? Have you ever flown
with the airline? Share your thoughts and experiences by leaving a comment!