Spanish flag-carrier meanwhile closes on single-aisle choice to replace Boeing MD-80s
Iberia is beginning to study options for a 300-seat-class widebody for medium-haul routes as it prepares to announce a major narrowbody order to replace its fleet of MD-80s.
The Spanish flag-carrier has a requirement for an aircraft similar in size to its 295-seat Airbus A340-300s, but optimised for shorter routes, says chief executive Fernando Conte, with the A330, A350 and Boeing's 787 all potential candidates. The carrier has not said when an order could be placed.
Iberia's immediate priority is to take advantage of good market prices to order a replacement for its fleet of 38 MD-80s and some early-model A320s. A firm order for 30 aircraft, either the A320 family or 737, will be placed by early March, with options for another 30 also being taken, says Conte. The first aircraft will be delivered in 2006 with the entire MD-80 fleet replaced over a three-to-four-year period. Iberia already operates a fleet of 68 A320 family aircraft.
The order will start the second phase of Iberia's fleet modernisation. This began in mid-2003 with its first A340-600 deliveries to renew its long-haul fleet. The airline will have a total of 12 A340-600s in service by the end of this year, adding to its 18 A340-300s. The A340-600s are to replace Iberia's fleet of 747s by year end.
None of Iberia's city pairs are dense enough to justify an aircraft as large as the ultra-large A380, says Conte. Only its Madrid-Mexico City route, which it currently serves twice daily with A340s, could be a candidate for the A380, he says. However, this would mean going to a once-daily A380 service that would represent a "much lower product" for the customer.
Conte says that Iberia is studying options to buy into Latin American carriers as it revisits its acquisition policy in the region. He says the only remaining barriers to this move relate to ownership issues and political factors linked to that.
"But things are changing, and there will be changes in the next two to three years," he says. "I have a priority which starts in Latin America, but the second one is Europe."
MARK PILLING / MADRID
Source: Flight International
