Link here--they're aiming for 2009 and then following with PEK, HKG, DEL

Groovy.

I still don't understand why they added WAS and BOS over LAX. New routes are good news, though.

Their fleet is not mission capable for LAX-MAD. You fly the routes you can (until you buy better planes which are mission capable). More accurately, their A343s aren't capable, and their A346s are better used elsewhere. WAS is a shoo-in for route authority, the regulators (in DC) always approve new service to WAS. But I agree, lots of aspects of IB's route selection are a bit ... strange. And now their strategy is ... to go after AY's business? I think they will lose big-time; but perhaps all those big, fat Spanish companies are busily outsourcing to China, and they think there is sufficient O/D traffic to justify the routes.

Hello

Obviously number_6 you are confuse about the Airbus 340-300 , aka 343 plane .

Airbus 343 range is 13,700 Km , while the 346 is only marginally longer with 14,640 Km .

Los Angeles, California is only 9,406 Km from Madrid, Spain .

Buenos Aires ( 10,062 Km ) and Santiago de Chile ( 10,700 Km ) are further away from Madrid than Los Angeles and Iberia's 343 planes fly there since 1996.

Swiss use 343 to fly Zurich-Los Angeles ( 9,556 Km) . Virgin Atlantic also serves Los Angeles sometimes with 343 .


Tokio ( 10,784 Km) and Shangai ( 10,290 Km ) are exactly at the same distance from Madrid , than Santiago de Chile ( 10,700 Km ) and Buenos Aires ( 10,062 Km )


The 343 it's a superb plane , here you have a picture of one of them taken in Boston during the ceremony for the inagurational flight Madrid-Boston

http://grupo.iberia.es/content/GrupoIberia/Imagenes/Sala%20de%20Prensa/Galerias/Lo%20ultimo/BOS-Mayo'07%20045.JPG


Iberia is so satisfied with the 343 that has adquired 2 more 343 in 2007 without a previous commitment . However the 346 , a newer model , had some problems at the start now mostly solved.



Iberia is an extremly conservative airline regarding new destinations and frecuencies and in the last 10 years haven't made a mistake.

Some had doubts about Boston and Washington and they are doing extremly well with 88% load factor already booked for the entire summer season as of May 31 . That would mean overbooking very shortly .

Iberia have said that expects to increase to 1x daily in 2008.


Obviously there isn't O/D traffic between Spain and Asia ... but Iberia don't pretend that .

Iberia pretends to do the same that Air China has started to do recently , linking Asia with Latin America via Madrid .

Perhaps some will be surprised here but a PEK-MAD-GRU , 17,562 Km is shorter than a direct PEK-GRU 17, 577 Km and the route goes over land instead the pacific and with the posibility of capturing traffic in Europe.

Iberia new destinations:

2008

LAX,SFO (both) and YYZ .

Increase to 1 daily BOS, IAD.

Complete LatAm network.

2009

Link LatAm with Asia via MAD

Tokio and Shangai cited by name.


Iberia to place order for new long-haul aircraft later this year , undecided about 350 or 787 , but in any case a transitional plane is necesary until delivery .

Iberia has confirmed more new long-haul planes for 2008 and 2009.

Iberia need to put in value the new MAD T4S satellite actually underused . T4S has a nominal capacity of 15 Millions passengers and in 2006 only 6 millions used it.

T4S is non-schengen territory , and non-schengen to non-schengen passenger don't require any kind of visa to transit via T4S .

However going via the US requires Visa .

Airbus343, that's quite an impassioned post in support of IB. But to say that IB "in the last 10 years haven't made a mistake" regarding frequencies and destinations is probably a claim that even Iberia wouldn't make. But rather than debate that and your other statements, I'm more interested in your comments concerning new NA destinations in 2008. You say that they will fly to SFO, LAX, and YYZ in 2008. Is that an opinion, or is there something supporting this statement?

Well, in my opinion it is still too early to see SFO & LAX & Canada destinations all together. However, it's true that IB wants to open a flight to California, and the managers claimed it could be either SFO, LAX, or even both. So we will get one for sure, and maybe both. A destination in Canada (probably YYZ) is very likely to appear, since Canada is served through the US.

Also take into account that IB and AA are forescasting to implement a new agreement (similar to the one that currently applies in the MAD/BCN - LHR/LGW flights) next january 2008 that would imply that both airlines would share the profits in the flights jointly operated (it is expected the frequencies to be divided by two and each airline to operate the 50% of the flights). So, more routes are due to be opened next year.

This is, of course, absolute rubbish!

Good to hear about YYZ. Spanair used to fly here as its only N. American destination, but has pulled out. AC has flown to Madrid as well, but I believe is only seasonal?

Do a search under the handle "VistaMAD" among literally dozens of others..

I wonder what mental process makes a person return to a place so many times, only to be kicked out again and again.

deleted

I'm trying to recall what IB used when they DID fly to LAX, and whether they ever flew to SFO... an LAX flight would be nice, and I suspect welcomed by many.

the actual flight miles mentioned have got to be inaccurate but OP has a point in that if you map a shortest-route flight from PVG to GRU non-stop, you pretty much fly right over Spain.

http://www.timeanddate.com/worldcloc...ml?p1=33&p2=51

Hard to imagine both SFO and LAX would support year-round IB non-stops to MAD, but being a 4x yearly Spain-California flyer, I would be extremely fired up to have one or the other (as long as they are AA codeshares so we can earn 100% EQMs in Coach of course).

It will be interesting to see how connecting traffic between Asia and South America pans out; it seems choice is expanding.

Currently the most direct options between the two - if one overlooks a direct China-GRU service on CA which I'm sure I read about on here - are via other European cities (LH, BA, AF) or the US. The combination of QF bringing in its own Oz-South America route, in addition to the existing LA SCL-AKL-SYD service, plus SA serving JNB-GRU makes the world more joined up. Obviously more difficult if your loyalty is to one alliance over another.

I'd welcome more direct routes from anywhere in Europe but MAD (and on carriers other than IB) to other South American cities: LHR-SCL ^; LHR-BOG (used to exist on BA, since axed); FRA/ZRH-ASU (I guess less use for this these days ).