Iberia received their first Airbus A300 on March 18, 1981 when it arrived in Madrid under the command of Captain Joaquín Reixa. Since 2009, Iberia has operated an all-airbus fleet, and today the company is celebrating 40 years of Airbus aircraft operations.
On Thursday (March 18, 2021), Iberia announced the celebration of 40 years of operations with Airbus Aircraft. Iberia received their first Airbus A300 on March 18, 1981 which arrived in Madrid under the command of Captain Joaquín Reixa. The aircraft was baptized with the name ‘Doñana.’ Due to their large passenger and cargo capacity, Iberia’s A300s were primarily deployed on routes to the Canary Islands. Since 2009, Iberia has operated an all-airbus fleet, reducing emissions by approximately 15 percent per passenger during the period from 2009-2019 and currently, approximately half of the carrier’s flights are operated with Airbus A350s and the latest generation A320neos.
After receiving their Airbus A300s, in the 1990’s Iberia took delivery of A320s for short and medium-haul flights, and later incorporated A340-300/600s into their fleet by 1996. Iberia received their first Airbus A330s in 2013, which coincided to the airline’s transformation of Business and Economy Class cabins. As previously mentioned, approximately 50 percent of Iberia’s flight are currently operated with state-of-the-art Airbus A350s and A320neos, which are quieter, more comfortable and more environmentally friendly, when compared to previous generation aircraft.
Iberia is committed to net zero carbon emissions by 2050, with the incorporation of latest generation aircraft and emerging sustainable technologies. In 2020 Iberia accelerated the retirement of their A340 fleet and their final A340-600 was withdrawn last August. The 40-year relationship between Iberia and Airbus has contributed to the development of the aeronautical sector in Spain in areas such as aircraft maintenance, and more recently, European development funds for recovery and growth of the sector in Spain.
Source: Iberia