Photo: Iberia The Spanish airline Iberia is dramatically expanding its operations to the USA.
The company announced they are "enhancing their commitment to the American market with a significant increase in flights and groundbreaking innovation - the introduction of the Airbus A321XLR for flights".
Iberia is the first airline in the world to operate this innovative aircraft, providing high levels of efficiency, comfort, and sustainability, as already reported in Passport News.
This innovative model, with a range of up to 7,500 kilometers in this configuration (15% longer than the A321LR), stands as one of the most efficient aircraft in the market with fuel savings of more than 40% compared to wide-body models. It maintains the high comfort standards typical of other long-range aircraft like the A350, featuring a business class with 14 single seats and a total of 182 seats on board.
The first transatlantic destinations for the XLR will be Boston and Washington (USA). Since its delivery to Iberia on October 30, the aircraft has conducted European flights to Paris and Stockholm as part of the standard certification process for any new aircraft before commencing long-haul flights.
This year (2025), Iberia will incorporate seven additional aircraft of this model, facilitating the integration of new long-haul destinations into its network and allowing for increased capacity in the cities it currently serves.
To meet growing demand, Iberia is expanding its flights to key U.S. cities:
New York and Miami - 2 daily flights
Chicago, Dallas, and Los Angeles - 1 daily flight
San Francisco - 3 weekly flights
Boston - increasing from 1 to 2 daily flights starting in June
and Washington D.C. - expanding from 4 to 7 weekly flights
"With this expansion, Iberia brings Europe closer to the USA, enabling a more advanced flying experience", noted the Spanish airline from the IAG Group.