Boston, first transatlantic destination of Iberia's A330 aircraft

Today, the new Iberia A330 aircraft is flying over the Atlantic for the first time. It has taken off from Madrid airport at 13:20 and will arrive in Boston at 17:05. Then, it will fly back from Boston Logan airport to Madrid at 18:55 hours.

On board, passengers will enjoy Iberia’s brand new Business and Economy class sections for long haul flights. With a configuration of 36 seats in the Business cabin and 242 in the Economy class, the Business Plus section in the new A330s features wider seats that unfold into perfectly flat beds almost 80 inches long, housed in individual modules, each of them with direct access to the aisle. The design and positioning of the new seats ensure greater privacy and comfort to passengers. Lighting in the Business class cabin changes at the different phases of the flight and the seats offer more space for customers’ belongings.

Business Plus passengers can also enjoy new, intuitive entertainment options, using 15.5” screens similar to that of tablet computers, plus 4.2” touch screen remotes with virtual keyboard, with which passengers can make telephone calls, send text messages, and easily access entertainment options. Each month some 50 feature films will be available, plus 80 TV series, documentaries, some 200 musical options, and 3D games, among many other choices.

In the Economy cabin, seats are more ergonomic and wider (18.1”). They are equipped with the most advanced inflight entertainment system: individual 9” touch screens, a wide film and TV series offer, documentaries, as well as a children’s programme. Every seat has a connection port for Apple devices and a USB port, while universal power sockets are also available.

Iberia will soon be adding Wi-Fi Internet access and SMS capability for all its long-haul customers. The Airbus A330s is a twin-engine aircraft and is 15% more fuel efficient than the aircraft it replaces.

The A330 will soon fly to Miami, New York and Chicago. Flights to Los Angeles, the fifth Iberia destination in the U.S., will be operated by the Airbus A340 aircraft – Iberia will refit its 17 A340/600 aircraft with the new product from next May. All these routes are included in the Joint Business Agreement between Iberia, American Airlines and British Airways on the North Atlantic routes.

Iberia started flying from Madrid to Boston on May 6, 2006. The Spanish airline will increase its offer between the Spanish capital and the US city this summer as it will operate one daily flight in June and July, and six flights a week in August. Iberia carried 954,000 passengers between the U.S. and Spain in 2012, 4% more than in the previous year. In 2013, Iberia will offer nearly 1.15 million seats in this market.