Nevertheless, Iberia recorded the highest capacity growth among IAG airlines from 2023 to 2024, with an 8% increase. Additionally, it represents 60% of IAG’s market share on routes to and from Latin America and the Caribbean—particularly in South America, where it holds 78% of the group’s market share.
This makes Iberia’s hub in Madrid the primary gateway between Latin America and Europe for IAG. The airline has cantered its 2025 growth strategy on expanding its presence in the region, increasing frequencies to key Latin American destinations in a bid to solidify its position as the leading European carrier in the Latin American market.
The aim of this article is to explore the performance of Iberia’s Latin American routes in 2024 using profitability and fare data from Apex, and to analyse the expected growth and capacity management for these routes in 2025 using schedule data, to assess how Iberia is positioning itself to strengthen its leadership in the region.
Findings
Route performance
Apex profit data shows that nearly all routes in Iberia’s Latin American network were profitable in 2024, with only two routes showing negative performance. The most profitable routes were two Caribbean destinations: Havana, leading with a profit margin of nearly 60%, and San Juan, with a 35% margin. This is particularly impressive given that both routes primarily serve leisure passengers. However, their high profitability can be attributed to high average fares, as shown in Table 1, and the fact that they are two of the shortest routes in Iberia’s Latin American network, which likely helps to reduce operating costs.
On the other hand, Guatemala City and San Salvador were the only two routes with negative performance in 2024, posting losses of -47% and -43%, respectively. This is the only triangulated route in Iberia’s Latin American operations, flown as MAD–GUA–SAL–MAD rather than as two separate routes. Operating a wide-body aircraft on the short 200 km sector between Guatemala City and San Salvador is likely to significantly increase operational costs, contributing to the route’s poor financial performance.
Table 1: Performance of Iberia’s Latin American Routes
Expected growth
**Chart 1 **presents the average weekly number of frequencies for Iberia’s network in Latin America. Two airports stand out in terms of frequency growth from 2024 to 2025: Buenos Aires and São Paulo. Buenos Aires shows an increase of seven weekly frequencies, reaching up to four daily flights in 2025, while São Paulo adds four weekly frequencies, achieving a twice-daily service.
The growth in Buenos Aires aligns with it being the route with the highest average fare in 2024, as well as its demographic significance. With 15.7 million inhabitants, Buenos Aires is the third most populated city in Latin America, following São Paulo (22.9 million) and Mexico City (22.7 million). This justifies Iberia’s efforts to increase capacity to these destinations, which not only have dense populations but also serve as major economic centres in the region. As a result, Mexico City and São Paulo are also among the top five routes with the highest number of weekly frequencies in 2025.
Chart 1: Iberia's Weekly Average Frequencies by Year
Chart 2 offers a closer look at frequency seasonality in 2025 and reveals that most destinations maintain stable flight frequencies throughout the year. However, there are notable seasonal variations during the Southern Hemisphere’s autumn-winter and spring-summer periods.
For example, Buenos Aires experiences a reduction in frequencies during the autumn-winter period, operating three daily flights from April to Jun, with certain days seeing up to four daily flights. During the spring and summer months, frequencies increase to as many as 31 weekly flights, indicating the addition of extra services beyond the regular four weekly flights. Similarly, Santiago undergoes seasonal adjustments, reaching up to 16 weekly flights during the summer, suggesting that on some days, up to three flights will be operated.
Other routes that exhibit seasonality include Caracas and Santo Domingo. Both destinations reduce frequencies during the Southern Hemisphere winter and increase them toward the summer. Santo Domingo, for instance, operates up to two flights per day on select days during the summer season, while Caracas reaches up to five weekly frequencies.
Chart 2: Iberia's Weekly Average Frequencies by Quarter 2025
Capacity management
Table 2 shows the fleet allocation for each of Iberia’s routes in Latin America, according to Apex schedules. Some routes are operated by a mixed fleet, using both the A330-200 and A350-900, with limited deployment of the A330-300 in the region. This limited use of the A330-300 is likely due to its shorter range compared to the A330-200, which offers greater range and is better suited for long-haul operations to Latin America. The average sector length in this region is approximately 9,000 km, compared to around 7,500 km for Iberia’s North American network, where the A330 is more commonly deployed.
Table 2: Iberia’s Fleet Allocation for Latin American Routes
The use of a mixed fleet on certain routes appears to offer Iberia greater flexibility in managing capacity. Given that the A330-200 has around 40% fewer Business Class seats and 10% fewer Economy seats than the A350-900, and lacks a Premium Economy cabin, it is likely used to better align capacity with demand. This approach may allow Iberia to maintain consistent frequencies on key routes like Buenos Aires, while deploying the smaller A330-200 on flights with lower demand, enabling the airline to optimize aircraft utilization without reducing its presence in the market.
On the other hand, some routes appear to be operated exclusively by the A350-900, such as Quito, Bogotá, and Mexico City. This may be attributed to the A330-200’s poorer performance at these airports, all of which are classified as “hot and high.” In such conditions, the A350-900 is likely a better fit, as operating with the A330-200 could require payload restrictions. Conversely, the A330-200 seems to be consistently assigned to routes with fewer weekly frequencies, such as Guayaquil (GYE) and Panama City (PTY), likely to match the lower demand on these routes. Notably, these also coincide with two of the least profitable routes in the network.
Meanwhile, the A330-300 is currently used only on two routes, Havana and Caracas, both of which are fully operated under wet lease agreements with third-party airlines. This likely explains the use of the A330-300 and reflects Iberia’s rapid expansion in the region, despite limited availability of its own aircraft due to pending deliveries. It also highlights the airline’s commitment to maintaining service across all markets, particularly those of strategic value for network connectivity and profitability, as is the case with Havana.
Finally, San Juan is the only route currently operated with Iberia’s new A321XLR. This aircraft could become a key resource for expanding service to additional Caribbean destinations and lower-demand cities along the northwest coast of South America.
Conclusion
Iberia has reinforced its role as IAG’s strategic gateway to Latin America, combining strong 2024 route profitability with ambitious 2025 growth. Through targeted frequency increases, seasonal adjustments, and flexible fleet deployment, including wet leases, the airline is optimizing capacity while expanding its market presence. This strategy aligns with Iberia’s recently launched “Flight Plan 2030”, its long-term roadmap to strengthen leadership, enhance connectivity, and drive sustainable growth across key international markets.
Banner image by Miguel Ángel Sanz on Unsplash
