Iberia has just announced a new route and some service increases, which are made possible by the airline taking delivery of new Airbus A350 aircraft. In 2020 Iberia’s fleet of Airbus A350s will double to 12 planes, so that presents quite some growth opportunities.
Continue reading: Iberia Adding Washington To Madrid Flights In 2020
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
UA flies to MAD from IAD in the summer with a 757, so I wonder if this route will still be viable for them
Aer Lingus operated MAD-IAD as a fifth freedom route a few years ago (the only one I ever recall them operating). It didn't work out for them.
Oh man, this is HUGE for those in DC region who have a bunch of AA miles. Great to have a lower surcharge option to get to Europe.
"The service to Washington will be Iberia’s sixth US destination, after Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, and San Francisco.
.....
Capacity to San Juan"
????
Sounds to me like Iberia has 7 US destinations
Amen.
"as they’ll be the second oneworld airline to operate transatlantic flights there"... does the Qatar flight to Doha not count as transatlantic?
This is great. When Iberia used to be here it helped drive down the IAD to Europe pricing in Business. Iberia was often throwing out fairly reasonable C fares. With both TAP and Iberia in the market now it should start moving IAD to being much more competitive along the lines of JFK for good promotions in Business.
Has American started passing along Iberia fuel surcharges? I'm showing a "carrier-imposed fee" of $1,200 per ticket, round trip business class IAD-MAD. Last time i booked Iberia with American miles (~ 2 years ago), that wasn't the case.
A very nice development indeed.
I'd say IB left the DC market 10 years ago and I've been waiting for it to return ever since OW became a s much of a presence in DC as *A
I attempted to booked it. I've flown IB biz awards via AA multiple times. Taxes as I recall are ~$115-180 range. IAD>MAD is showing up at ~$638 in taxes/fees. I called the Executive Platinum desk and they were on hold with IT for over 20 minutes. They said they have not received any notification, but it now appears that Iberia is imposing BA level fuel surcharges. Very disappointing to hear.......
Ben, I'm a huge fan of your blog, read it everyday!
But I have to point out, shouldn't the title here be "Adding Madrid to Washington" not "Washington to Madrid" since Iberia is based in Madrid
Looks like they are passing along BA style YQ on this flight only. Seeing $628 in J for IAD>MAD on both Iberia and AA (I haven't check BA but cannot imagine it is better). Haven't checked other OW carriers yet though.
the taxes and fees are $208 for economy class; I am not even sure if this flight is worth that much on a flexible date. It's outrageous how much the "fuel surcharges" etc are.
I flew Iberia from DC about 10 years ago, right before they discontinued the flight. The load factor at that time, on both the outbound and the return, were very low so it was clear that the flight was not going to last.
I am interested in seeing Iberia back at DC -- curious as to why they choose DC as it is not a Oneworld hub
I’m glad Iberia is returning to IAD. It will be nice to have year-round nonstop service to MAD. United’s seasonal service leaves seven months without a nonstop flight. (Have I mentioned that I hate connections.)
By the way, the Air Lingus IAD-MAD service was subsidized by United because United didn’t want to establish a base in Madrid. When United and Continental merged, United stopped the subsidy because they inherited Continental’s Madrid base.
Also, did anyone else notice how rapidly Iberia intends to turn around their aircraft in IAD? An amazingly short turnaround for a long-haul flight. They must plan on provisioning both legs of the trip in MAD.