By Clara-Laeila Laudette
MADRID (Reuters) – Iberia, the Spanish arm of IAG airline group, expects its regular monthly flights to achieve 60% of 2019 concentrations by July, as vacation commences to recuperate from the COVID-19 pandemic.
This month, Iberia is flying at 40% of May well 2019 stages and expects to get to 50% of the last pre-pandemic June up coming thirty day period, Business Director Maria Jesus Lopez Solas instructed reporters on Thursday through the FITUR tourism trade reasonable in Madrid.
CEO Javier Sanchez Prieto explained Spain wanted to open up to the relaxation of the globe, specifically Latin The united states, adhering to months of limitations to air travel imposed to suppress COVID-19.
The determination to reopen routes among Spain and Latin The usa must come inside of months, Prieto stated.
“You can find great pent-up need: as quickly as constraints are lifted, we see bookings commence pouring by,” Lopez Solas explained, adding Iberia planed to fly to 18 Latin American capitals in June.
The flag provider wants to increase flights to Asia from Spain – now only 5% of the overall – hoping to carry Madrid’s Barajas airport in line with other European hubs, which typical 20-25% of flights to Asia.
Iberia hailed the European Commission’s suggestion that travel to third-party international locations resume, but decried environmental taxes integrated in a system presented by Spain to the EU’s government arm to accessibility some 14 billion euros in recovery resources.
“You can find a demonisation of airways which will penalise the complete value chain,” Lopez-Solas explained.
Iberia will grow to be just one of IAG’s two Spanish brands as the team seeks to include rival Air Europa to its roster, with the deal to be executed in the next 50 percent of 2021, main executive Sanchez-Prieto explained.
Questioned irrespective of whether obtaining the two Spanish airlines under the identical umbrella would direct to layoffs, Sanchez-Prieto praised Spain’s pandemic-period furloughs just before replying: “We are going to see – the remaining eyesight is that no-just one be in extra, and for now we are opponents, developing in parallel.”
(Reporting by Clara-Laeila Laudette and Inti Landauro, enhancing by Robin Emmott, Kirsten Donovan)
