On December 18, 2023, Iberia announced it is planning to resume flights between Madrid and Tokyo Narita in October 2024, about four years after the flights were suspended due to the pandemic. Continue reading to learn more. Iberia to...
On December 18, 2023, Iberia announced it is planning to resume flights between Madrid and Tokyo Narita in October 2024, about four years after the flights were suspended due to the pandemic.
Continue reading to learn more.
This time around, Iberia will use its A350s on the Madrid – Tokyo route. (Credit: Iberia)
Iberia to Resume Madrid – Tokyo Narita Route in October 2024
According to the announcement, Iberia will resume flights between Madrid and Tokyo Narita on October 27, 2024, in the direction from Madrid, and a day later in the other direction. From then on, the flights will operate with the following schedule:
IB281 / Madrid – Tokyo Narita / 12:00PM – 10:10AM / Thu, Sat, Sun IB282 / Tokyo Narita – Madrid / 12:20PM – 8:20PM / Mon, Fri, SunIberia plans to operate the flights with its Airbus A350-900s. The aircraft can seat a total of 330 seats in three classes and is equipped with 31 staggered business class seats in a 1-2-1 layout, 24 premium economy class seats in a 2-4-2 layout, and 293 economy class seats in a 3-3-3 layout.
In addition to capturing point-to-point traffic between the two capitals, Iberia also aims to attract passengers connecting to other destinations in Europe and Latin America. Passengers connecting in Madrid can enjoy Iberia’s Hola Madrid program which offers stopovers of up to six nights at no extra cost added to the airline ticket.
Interestingly, the airline put a positive spin on the current inability to overfly Russia by saying that “customers flying round-trip with Iberia will do a round-the-world trip, as the outbound from Madrid to Tokyo will be done across the south and the inbound across the north, above Russia, across the Pacific Ocean and the Artic.”
Iberia will be the only airline offering a non-stop connection between Japan and Spain. Tokyo will only be Iberia’s only destination east of Doha, Qatar, unless the airline adds such a destination by then.
Iberia First Launched Flights to Tokyo Almost 40 Years Ago
The flights starting in October 2024 will be Iberia’s third time operating flights between Madrid and Tokyo Narita.
Iberia first started serving Tokyo in 1986. Back then, the flights were operated using Boeing 747s and made stops in Barcelona and Mumbai. With the ability to fly over Siberia, the route went non-stop in 1992. Before the route’s first and longest hiatus which started in 1998, Iberia also used Airbus A340s on the flights.
More recently, Iberia launched flights between Madrid and Tokyo on October 18, 2016. The flights were mainly operated by Airbus A330s (I reviewed the flight here). The route was suspended in March 2020 due to the pandemic, before it managed to ramp up to daily operation as originally announced.
The upcoming relaunch is, in a way a step back into the 1980s when Iberia could not overfly Siberia. This time around, though, it can operate the flights non-stop thanks to the amazing improvements in technology that have been made since then.
In the past, Iberia operated the Madrid – Tokyo route using Airbus A340s among other types.
Summary
In October 2024, Iberia will launch flights between Madrid and Tokyo for the third time since it first did so back in 1986. This time around, the flights will be operated by Airbus A350 aircraft and will run three times a week to begin with.
The route will be Iberia’s first post-COVID-19 route to the Far East.
The post Iberia Set to Return to Tokyo Narita in October 2024 appeared first on KN Aviation.
