Air Europa competes directly with Iberia on 80% of routes from Madrid

Air Europa began Asunción in 2015 and is one of 22 Latin American destinations the carrier serves from Madrid this year.  It currently operates twice-weekly, but will increase to six-weekly from April.  All services continue to Cordoba, Argentina.

Air Europa will compete directly with Iberia on 45 of its 56 routes from Madrid this year, OAG data shows.

The acquisition of Air Europa by Iberia – now halved to €500 million – is about growing dominance at Madrid, with Air Europa having over 10 million seats at the airport this year.  It is Barajas’ second-largest carrier with a one-fifth share of capacity, against almost half for Iberia.

51 of Air Europa’s 56 destinations from the Spanish capital are to Europe and Latin America.  The remainder are to Africa (Casablanca, Marrakesh, and Tunis), North America (Miami and New York JFK), and the Middle East (Tel Aviv).

All but one European route – including 12 domestic – compete with Iberia, with consolidation inevitable. The exception is Alghero, which Air Europe serves twice-weekly in July and August.

Air Europe has more seats from Madrid than Iberia to Amsterdam, Caracas, Frankfurt, Guayaquil, London Gatwick, Medellin, Milan Malpensa, Munich, Palma, and Tenerife North.

And it is only slightly behind to Bogota, Havana, Ibiza, Montevideo, Panama City, Porto, Santo Domingo, and Sao Paulo Guarulhos.

Air Europa’s network from Madrid this year. If Air Europa and Iberia’s seats are combined, Barcelona, Palma, Tenerife North, Paris Orly, Bilbao, Lisbon, A Coruña, Vigo, and Rome Fiumicino are the most significant destinations.

Almost four in ten Air Europa destinations in Latin America

Air Europa serves 22 destinations in Latin America: 15 in South America; four in Central America; and three in the Caribbean.

Three of these 22 are one-stops: Cordoba (via Asunción in both directions); La Ceiba (a temporary service, via Cancun in both directions); and Guayaquil (triangularly with Quito).

Air Europa is scheduled to have over 2.8 million seats – one-quarter of its total – to/from Latin America this year, down by just 0.62% over pre-coronavirus 2019.

It is to Latin America that the pair’s network differs.  Not surprisingly, Iberia doesn’t compete with Air Europa on nine thinner routes: Asunción; Cordoba; Fortaleza; La Ceiba; Punta Cana; Recife; Salvador; San Pedro Sula; and Santa Cruz.

The Brazilian cities have easy two-way connectivity to/from Lisbon and Porto.

It is likely that at least the thicker destinations will become part of Iberia’s network in the future. Source: OAG Schedules Analyser.