An overview of Iberia Airlines | |
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Iberia was formed in June 1927 by Horacio Echeberrieta. From its inception it had a series of ‘firsts’ to its name. It was Spain’s first airline, the first airline to fly from Europe to South America, the first to have a shuttle service that is ‘walk-on’ from Madrid to Barcelona and the first airline in Europe to introduce the concept of a frequent flyers programme for its international customers. This programme was called Iberia Plus.
Today Iberia is the largest airline group in Spain and ranks fourth in comparison to other airlines in Europe. The airline operates out of one hundred and five airports around the world, and offers more than a thousand departures a day to approximately 40 countries. It is the airline that has the most number of routes connecting from Europe to Latin America. Iberia is also a founding member of a global aviation partnership called the OneWorld alliance. Over the last eighty years, Iberia has grown and diversified. Today they have three clear areas of activity besides its various innovations and subsidiaries. These are airport handling, passenger and cargo transport and aircraft maintenance. Iberia is listed on the stock market of Spain and is the only airline in Europe to have made a profit continuously for the last 12 years. The airline is also listed on the index of the Dow Jones Stoxx. This is an index that lists companies that have the best social, economical and environmental practices. There are just two other airlines besides Iberia on the Dow Jones Stoxx index. Over the years Iberia has grown into a prestigious company. It owns one of the most modern fleets in Europe. The Barcelona to Madrid air shuttle is one of the flights that have the largest walk-ons on one given route. Iberia takes great pride in its aircraft maintenance division. Today it is the 9th largest firm that offers aircraft engineering and maintenance. It maintains all of its own aircraft as well as those of other airlines. It is also the first company to modify aircrafts and repair its components. Iberia is the only handling operator in Spain to offer a comprehensive on ground service at airports. Its ground service team consists of more that 10,000 people and 11,000 vehicles. Last year the airline’s service team attended to more that 220 airlines with about 86.6 million people. The airline has won several awards. It was, amongst others, awarded as the ‘Best Business Travel Provider’ for the 2008 and in 2007 it was voted as being the ‘Most Punctual Airline’ in Europe. |