Air Europa #3 in Madrid; operates mix of domestic, long-haul and some EU services

Air Europa became an associate member of the SkyTeam alliance last September. The SkyTeam Associate Program was launched to serve carriers in strategic regions who are interested in becoming affiliated with SkyTeam and its alliance benefits.

With Iberia being propositioned by British Airways, SAS’s attempted sale of Spanair failing, and clickair and Vueling still planning a merger, only Air Europa among Spain’s biggest airlines appears to have remained rumour free this summer regarding its future. The airline is 100% owned by Globalia, a travel and tourism company managed by Juan Jose Hidalgo, and since last September it has been an associate member of the SkyTeam alliance. During the last 10 years its operations have gradually shifted ever more to focusing on scheduled flights.

Source: ICAO

As passenger numbers have grown to almost 10 million, profitability has been marginal in recent years, though so far the airline has avoided major losses. Its fleet consists of 33 737-800s, six A330s and three 767s. The airline had been the launch customer for Airbus’ A350 but the order was dropped in May. It still has an outstanding order for almost 30 additional 737-800s.

Source: ICAO

As the Spanish economy has entered a difficult period and high-speed rail is increasingly a competitor for domestic flights from Madrid, Air Europa’s traffic has been down slightly ever since April. It is the third largest airline at Madrid after Iberia and Spanair and its top three routes in terms of capacity are Barcelona, Palma de Mallorca and Paris Orly.

Source: OAG Max Online for w/c 8 September 2008

In total, the airline currently operates more than 100 scheduled routes across 46 airports. Almost half of all the airline’s scheduled flights involve Madrid with Palma and Barcelona the next biggest airports for flights. There are only two non-Spanish airports in the top 12, Paris CDG and Paris Orly.

Long-haul to South America from Madrid

Air Europa is the third largest airline at Madrid after Iberia and Spanair. The airline currently operates more than 100 scheduled routes across 46 airports; almost half of its scheduled flights involve Madrid.

From Madrid a variety of long-haul destinations in Central and South America are served using the A330s and 767s, including Buenos Aires (Argentina), Cancun (Mexico), Caracas (Venezuela), Havana (Cuba), Punta Cana (Dominican Republic), Salvador (Brazil) and Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic). Apart from the two Paris airports, Air Europa also operates scheduled services from Madrid to Budapest, Prague, Rome, Tel Aviv and Venice in Europe and the Middle East. In Africa it serves Dakar, Marrakech and Tunis.