The connection between Iberia and Latin America is historic, but in recent years the company has doubled down on its commitment to this market. What is the strategy?

Iberia’s presence in Latin America is not recent. It’s been 79 years since our maiden flight to Buenos Aires via Rio de Janeiro. Since then, we have gradually increased our contact points and built our current network and now boast connections to 18 airports in 16 countries. After the pandemic, Latin America received an additional boost as a result of a genuine and growing interest not only from Europeans wanting to visit it, but also from Latinos wanting to travel to the rest of the world. In this context, Iberia’s hub in Madrid has been fundamental to our strategy. Thanks to it, we’ve managed to give Latin Americans the ability to connect from Madrid to many other cities, and that has been very well received.

Why is Latin America so important to Iberia? What role does the company play in the connection between Europe and Latin America?

I always say that Iberia is a Spanish airline with a Latin American soul. There’s an extremely close relationship between Spain and Latin American countries, as we share a cultural and personal bond. In fact, a very important segment of passengers is what we call VFR (visitors, friends and family). This type of passenger is very common on routes to Mexico, Colombia and Argentina, where we offer up to three weekly flights, or to destinations such as Ecuador. Leisure travel has also greatly increased. Anyone who walks the streets of Madrid can see the number of Latin Americans who visit there as tourists. It’s the perfect city for those who travel from this side of the Atlantic to Europe to feel at home. We share a language, but gastronomy and shopping are also interesting.

What values have allowed Iberia to position itself as the leading airline in this market?

Gastronomy, of course. It arouses a lot of interest, which Iberia has been able to capitalise on in our airplanes with menus that offer passengers a ‘little taste’ of Spanish flavours. As a Latina, I love tapas, ham, Spanish wine... Then there is another factor: sport. It’s not the most traditional, but it is undoubtedly very relevant for Latinos. We signed an agreement with La Liga that has aroused extraordinary interest because in many countries in Latin America we love football to the point that it’s become part of our character. Argentines, Brazilians and Colombians are passionate about the sport and this agreement has generated a new segment of passengers who want to experience European football. Although the socio-economic realities are very diverse in each country in Latin America, there is a young audience among whom it is becoming fashionable to finish their studies in Europe, and Madrid has done a very good job of positioning itself as an educational destination. We also talk about the religious segment: visiting cathedrals and monuments of faith that are of incalculable cultural value. At Iberia, we’ve been able to identify these triggers and include them in our message so that every traveller can find a proposal that interests them.

In 2023, Iberia strengthened connections with Colombia and Peru and in 2024 with Argentina and Brazil, although flights have also been increased to destinations such as the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico. How do you decide to increase frequency or open routes?

This is a very intricate and painstaking task. Iberia’s Network Planning Department analyses both supply and demand and our capacity in terms of aircraft. One of the biggest challenges that came with the pandemic was that – although we were making adjustments on the fly – we were not provided with sufficient aircraft to cover all routes with the same capacity. This team identified very well where there was a possibility of doing business because, after all, as a company, we have to measure profitability. It’s not for nothing that we were named Europe’s most profitable airline in the last quarter. We showed that there was a lot of growth capacity in Mexico, Colombia and Argentina, and we started growing in Brazil... And over the year we have increased frequencies to Chile and Peru. The reality is that, although Latin America can be considered a unique region on the global stage, it consists of many countries and each has its own needs or appetites. Considering them all has been key to our strategy.

In your opinion, what is the 2024 Latin American destination?

The top destination in Latin America in 2024 is Mexico, due to the results it is having for Iberia. We have three interline agreements that allow us to connect to all of the country’s states from Mexico City (CDMX). Thus, the success of this strategy is not only in connecting CDMX to Madrid and from there to the rest of European cities, but in connecting Europe to CDMX and from there to any other point in the Republic. Another destination that has proved to be very strong is Colombia. It’s a smaller country than Mexico, but we’ve managed to establish the same number of seats, the same daily flights. Beyond the fact that we’re aware that Bogotá is a very important financial centre within the region, we see that the country piques a lot of interest.

What is the biggest attraction of the routes to Latin America? How is the Iberia brand perceived in Latin American market?

One of the most appealing outcomes in Latin America is that passengers not only stay in destination capitals, but also explore each country. In Latin America, you can find incredible places such as the Amazon, Machu Picchu, Chichén Itzá and the Perito Moreno glacier. Our biggest competitive advantage is that our diversity allows us to provide realities that seem like fantasy. We also talk a lot about the adventures we offer Latin Americans: we connect to Tokyo, Tromsø, Ljubljana, Rovaniemi, destinations that – when you are on this side of the world – seem super exotic (just as Mendoza, Santiago de Chile and Viña del Mar may seem to you). This is the hallmark of Iberia in Latin America – we put places on the map that may sometimes seem unattainable.

In 2024, Iberia has attained an all-time record for seating capacity between Spain and Latin America, and the feedback is very positive. What do passengers value most?

We will end this year with 5.3 million seats available between Spain and Latin America. This is a 16 per cent growth compared to 2023, which was already a record year. Travellers who take off from Latin America receive a very high-level travel experience thanks to the A330 or A350 aircraft, the most modern in our fleet. And there are other attractive aspects related to the on-board experience, such as the menus – which we review very often – and customisation options that allow you to choose your seat or the food to be served in advance, and artificial intelligence is also now being harnessed. We also see an increase in what we call ‘bleisure’, the combination of business and leisure travel. We’ve discovered that many of our customers who were travelling to Madrid for work and once stayed two or three days now extend their stay or travel with someone. This is a segment that highly values the Iberia Stopover Hola Madrid programme. Customers travel to other cities but think of Madrid as their base in Europe. There are many Latin American travellers who go on business trips to Paris or Berlin and then come to Madrid to relax. We’ve made good use of the opportunities to give Latin American customers the options they are looking for right now.

On the routes to Latin America, we use aircraft such as the A350 Next – among the most modern on the market. Are Iberia’s sustainability objectives reflected in its strategy with Latin America?

Sustainability is a very important part of Iberia’s strategy and the change in the fleet is fundamental to it. The A330s and A350s are lighter aircraft with lower fuel consumption. As a result, their carbon emissions are reduced. But, from our point of view, sustainability has multiple aspects, such as all of us who make up the company being constantly educated about sustainability in order to implement the commitment we acquired through IAG of reaching zero net emissions by 2050. There is also a whole plan for the implementation of SAF, so that our fleet not only consumes less, but is also now ready to introduce this new fuel. We also think about what happens inside the cabins, such as reducing the use of single-use plastics, waste, the use of paper, focusing on digitisation...

The bar is very high, but what are the goals for 2025? Can you let us in on some of the new developments we’ll see in the coming months?

We’re currently preparing the plan for next year and I can say that 2025 is coming in strong. The frequencies for the first quarter are already published. We’ve kicked off winter by increasing flights to Argentina to three per day. In other words, there are 21 flights each week from Madrid to Buenos Aires. It’s a trend that will continue in 2025, with the focus on continuing to break new ground between Latin America and the rest of the world through Madrid, still using sustainability as our guide. We can expect new developments in terms of additional capabilities for the second half of 2025. Iberia will receive the new A321XLR aircraft – which will link Madrid with the United States – and we’re a market that will follow the trend of these routes. We’ll be waiting to see what we can do in Latin America with them.