Iberia has just announced its newest transatlantic route, and it shouldn’t come as a surprise, as the airline revealed this was in the works as part of its “2030 Flight Plan.”
In this post:
Iberia will add seasonal flights to Toronto, Canada
As of June 13, 2026, Iberia will launch a new summer seasonal flight between Madrid (MAD) and Toronto (YYZ). The flight will operate 5x weekly with the following schedule:
IB367 Madrid to Toronto departing 12:00PM arriving 3:00PM
IB368 Toronto to Madrid departing 5:10PM arriving 6:55AM (+1 day)
The 3,774-mile flight is blocked at 9hr westbound and 8hr45min eastbound. The flight will operate on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, in both directions.
Iberia will use an Airbus A321XLR for the service, featuring 182 seats. This includes 14 business class seats and 168 economy seats. This is Iberia’s new long range narrow body plane, and you can read my review of Iberia’s A321XLR business class here, and my overall thoughts on the A321XLR here.
How Toronto route fits in Iberia’s route network
Toronto will be Iberia’s only destination in Canada, though of course Iberia has extensive service to the United States. Iberia’s destinations in the United States include Boston (BOS), Chicago (ORD), Dallas (DFW), Los Angeles (LAX), Miami (MIA), New York (JFK), Orlando (MCO), San Francisco (SFO), San Juan (SJU), and Washington (IAD).
Here’s how Iberia’s Chief Commercial, Network Development, and Alliances Officer, María Jesús López Solás, describes this:
“This launch is part of our Flight Plan 2030, through which we continue to expand our long-haul network and strengthen our presence in North America. Toronto will be our 49th in our destination network, marking a milestone in Iberia’s history. This connection will bring Canada closer to Spain and Europe, while offering Canadian travellers more options to discover our country and the European continent with the best experience. Operating this route with the Airbus A321XLR is not just an operational decision, but a statement of principles: innovation, efficiency, and sustainability are the pillars on which we build our future.”
This route seems like a safe enough bet. Ultimately Air Canada and Star Alliance dominate Canada, though this service will be part of the oneworld transatlantic joint venture, and it complements service to Toronto from British Airways and Aer Lingus.
There should be a fair amount of demand in both directions in summer, given that Canada is popular with Europeans, and Europe is popular with Canadians. Now, perhaps the upside is limited somewhat as well.
The A321XLR, especially as Iberia has configured it, isn’t exactly a high margin aircraft. Given the focus on leisure demand, the limited number of business class seats, and the lack of premium economy, I don’t think this is going to be some financial game changer for the airline. But hey, Toronto seems like a logical place for Iberia to fly to, and it’s hard to lose money flying across the Atlantic in summer.
Bottom line
As of June 2026, Iberia will launch a new 5x weekly flight between Madrid and Toronto using an Airbus A321XLR. This will be Iberia’s only route to Canada, and it’s a logical addition, given the amount of summer transatlantic demand that exists, plus the low capacity of the A321XLR.
For what it’s worth, based on Iberia’s Flight Plan 2030, it sounds like the next route in North America should be to Philadelphia (PHL).
What do you make of Iberia adding service to Toronto?
Porter can feed into this flight too
Never on A321XLR for an overseas international flight.
Aircraft with premium heavy layouts aren't necessarily high margin. It all depends on the route. More premium seats to the new IB Brazilian destinations would likely lead to losses. Canada isn't as premium as the US either.
Yay, more Jamon Serrano to compliment boring Torontean food.
Clearly "Toronto gourmand" has never been. Or learned to spell.
A suggestion - wHy don't you use nautical miles for air distance as customary in the airlines industry ? The website you use does have option to change units :)
The ISO standard is metric. So, kilometers please.
Wishing a Houston to Madrid flight by any airline. Hard to understand not having a flight to Spain from Houston with such large Hispanic market and connections
Pretty simple, it is far and DFW is close to Houston with tons of connection opportunities for Iberia. Anyone connecting through Houston is via Star Alliance.
Houston is not a large market for Spain. It’s “Hispanic” market originated largely from Mexico, Central and South America.
I highly agree with that. Many people mix up Spaniards and Hispanics, but those are completely different things. Spaniards are Europeans, while Hispanics are pre-Columbian mesoAmericans. They’re also in a very different socioeconomic groups. Humongous difference in intelligence and intellectual development.
"The City of Toronto will host six matches, kicking off on June 12, 2026, with the first-ever men's FIFA World Cup™ match on Canadian soil and featuring Canada's ..."
https://www.toronto.ca/explore-enjoy/festivals-events/fifa-world-cup-26/
HERE THREAD, I'LL DO THE HONORS:
"OMG, horror, a narrowbody flying a transatlantic flight. I'm dying! Help! I'd rather have a widebody with narrower seats, a lower ceiling, curvier walls, and less overhead storage.... won't someone saveeee me?!"
There, now that we have that out of the way......
Fantastic. There are now over 30 TATL options out of YYZ.
AC is a terrible airline, its good to have options.
It does not mention anywhere that the route is seasonal, yes it is being launched Summer 2026 but it was understood that the route would be year round.
Just be careful not to book a non-reclining seat for a +8 hour flight.