‍MADRID — The Spanish flag carrier Iberia announced today the launch of a new strategic program called “Plan de Vuelo 2030.” This plan aims to introduce significant upgrades to the airline's fleet and route network during the second half of this decade.

PdV 2030 will enhance IB’s performance in operational and commercial aspects with the arrival of new aircraft and the opening of new transatlantic routes starting as soon as next year.

Marco Sansavini, CEO of Iberia, said, "We are achieving results that allow us to face the future with confidence and invest almost US$7 billion in fleet growth, including 70 long-haul aircraft, which will contribute to making Madrid-Barajas a leading European airline hub."

Canada, a New Country on the Destination List

As soon as next year, Iberia will launch three additional non-stop transatlantic flights to Monterrey (MTY) in Mexico, Philadelphia (PHL) in the USA, and Toronto (YYZ) in Canada, marking its first-ever appearance in the northern territory. 

The opening of the routes to PHL and YYZ are supported by the optimal performance of the brand-new Airbus A321XLR, which is already flying non-stop transatlantic between Madrid (MAD) and Boston (BOS) and Washington D.C. (IAD).

With the initial goal of evaluating demand, the airline will launch the service with three weekly flights to each airport. If the results are positive, additional frequencies would be added, aiming to reach daily connections in the future.

A Strong Candidate to Operate A330neo Planes

In terms of fleet growth, Sansavini clarified that by 2030, Iberia expects to expand its long-haul fleet from 45 to 70 aircraft. Of those, some units could belong to the Airbus A330neo variant.

These airframes would arrive from the recent order placed by the International Airlines Group (IAG) for 21 firm A330-900neos. As of today, IB operates a mixed fleet of 22 A330-200s and A330-300s, which are on average just 10.3 years old.

Despite this, the airline's main priority is to retrofit all its current wide-body fleet with up-to-date cabin interiors. Only then, and depending on Iberia’s operational performance, the next-generation variants would begin to arrive to the fleet.

Asia, Africa, Barcelona, Out of Iberia’s “PdV 2030”

As declared in the Plan de Vuelo 2030, the main focus area of the Spanish flag carrier will still be the Americas, as expected. However, Iberia has denied all rumors of potential expansions to Africa and Asia in the near future.

Instead, IB’s presence in popular Asian and African destinations will be supported by other Oneworld carriers such as Royal Air Maroc (AT) in Casablanca (CMN), Qatar Airways (QR) in Doha (DOH), and Japan Airlines (JL) in Tokyo (NRT). Those are the only partner hubs outside of Europe and America where a passenger will see an Iberia airplane for the time being.

On the other hand, Iberia confirmed that it will not consider establishing a secondary hub in Barcelona (BCN), despite the recently approved airport expansion in the second-largest city in Spain.

The Airbus A321XLR could have been a perfect candidate for transatlantic flights out of BCN, which would offload a significant number of connecting passengers through Madrid. However, LEVEL (LL) will remain as the sole transatlantic operator of the group at this airport. It’s important to note that this long-haul low-cost carrier received its own AOC back in December 2024 to become a more independent airline from Iberia.

Are you excited about Iberia's new strategic plans for the end of the decade? Make sure to check out our extensive review of the carrier’s most popular plane lately, the Airbus A321XLR, and our social media channels.