Airlines & Airports
| July 01, 2010 Iberia To Fly Direct To San Salvador | |
| On October 1st, Iberia will make San Salvador its fourth direct Central American destination, while flights between Madrid and Panama City, which are now combined with those to Guatemala, will become non-stop, saving passengers flying from London more than three hours flight time. Iberia expects to carry some 40,000 passengers on the San Salvador route in the first year, and some 82,000 on the non-stop Panama City route. Increased frequencies and distribution agreements with local airlines will expand Iberia's coverage of Central America, as the capital cities of both Panama and El Salvador become connecting points to other Central American cities. Specifically, in addition to Costa Rica, Panama, Guatemala and El Salvador, the Spanish airline will be in a position to offer daily services to Managua (Nicaragua) and to both Tegucigalpa and San Pedro Sula in Honduras. A variety of options will be available: flights from Madrid to Panama City are scheduled for Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays, while those flying the Madrid-Guatemala-San Salvador route will operate on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Iberia has grown steadily in Central America since 2004; in 2005, its first full year operating in the region, it carried more than 173,000 passengers to and from Europe, reaching a total of 275,000 on 2009, an increase of 60%. In the entire six-year period Iberia passengers on Europe-Central American routes exceeded 1.3 million. Iberia's larger seat supply on these routes will lead to a further increase in traffic, and will consolidate the airline's leadership between Europe and Central America, where its overall market share now stands at 42%, while for business travel it is 52%. Iberia will use 254-seat Airbus A-340/300 for on the Panama and San Salvador routes. The 36-seat Business Plus section has recently been upgraded, and passengers can now enjoy 2.2 metres of personal space and seats that unfold into horizontal beds. www.iberia.com | |
