Iberia made its first flight between Madrid and South America on September the 22nd, 1946 when a DC-4 departed from Madrid’s Barajas airport, bound for Buenos Aires. The route of those first flights was Madrid-Villa Cisneros-Natal-Montevideo-Buenos Aires.
Travel time on this route was almost 36 hours, including stops in each city.
See also: #TBT: Avianca Argentina flights between Buenos Aires, Rosario and Reconquista.
Over the years, thanks to the arrival of new aircraft with greater autonomy and capacity, stopovers were reduced, as well as the total flight time.
See also: #TBT: United Airlines flights to and from Argentina in 2002.
Jumping 40 years, more precisely in January 1988, Iberia was operating in South America with Boeing 747s and DC-10s. In terms of weekly flights, Argentina was the main market, followed by Chile, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay.
Both aircraft had three seating configurations, which were Grand Class (P), Business Class (C) and Economy (Y).
See also: #TBT: Transportes Aéreos Neuquén (TAN) flights in 1999.
Schedule between Spain and South America in 1988 – Iberia
Flights from Spain
To see all tables, place the mobile phone in a horizontal position
| Flight | From | To | Aircraft | Freq. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| IB 983 | MAD 22:35 | LPA 00:15+1 | Boeing 747 | Monday |
| IB 983 | LPA 01:55 | EZE 09:00 | Boeing 747 | Tuesday |
| IB 983 | EZE 10:15 | SCL 12:20 | Boeing 747 | Tuesday |
| IB 983 | MAD 22:35 | LPA 00:15+1 | Boeing 747 | Wednesday |
| IB 983 | LPA 01:55 | EZE 09:00 | Boeing 747 | Thursday |
| IB 983 | EZE 10:15 | SCL 12:20 | Boeing 747 | Thursday |
| IB 991 | SCQ 20:30 | MAD 21:30 | DC-10 | Thursday |
| IB 991 | MAD 00:05 | GIG 07:05 | DC-10 | Friday |
| IB 991 | GIG 08:20 | EZE 10:25 | DC-10 | Friday |
| IB 991 | EZE 11:30 | MVD 13:20 | DC-10 | Friday |
| IB 981 | SCQ 21:10 | MAD 22:10 | Boeing 747 | Friday |
| IB 981 | MAD 00:45 | EZE 09:00 | Boeing 747 | Saturday |
| IB 981 | EZE 10:15 | SCL 12:20 | Boeing 747 | Saturday |
| IB 999 | MAD 00:05 | GIG 07:05 | DC-10 | Sunday |
| IB 999 | GIG 08:35 | ASU 09:55 | DC-10 | Sunday |
See also: #TBT: Dinar Líneas Aéreas flights in 1999.
Flights from South America
To see all tables, place the mobile phone in a horizontal position
| Flight | From | To | Aircraft | Freq. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| IB 982 | SCL 14:10 | EZE 15:55 | Boeing 747 | Tuesday |
| IB 982 | EZE 17:25 | LPA 05:50+1 | Boeing 747 | Tuesday |
| IB 982 | LPA 07:05 | MAD 10:35 | Boeing 747 | Wednesday |
| IB 982 | SCL 14:10 | EZE 15:55 | Boeing 747 | Thursday |
| IB 982 | EZE 17:25 | LPA 05:50+1 | Boeing 747 | Thursday |
| IB 982 | LPA 07:05 | MAD 10:35 | Boeing 747 | Friday |
| IB 992 | MVD 14:40 | ASU 15:25 | DC-10 | Friday |
| IB 992 | ASU 16:25 | GIG 19:35 | DC-10 | Friday |
| IB 992 | GIG 20:55 | MAD 09:15+1 | DC-10 | Friday |
| IB 980 | SCL 14:10 | EZE 15:55 | Boeing 747 | Saturday |
| IB 980 | EZE 17:25 | MAD 08:45+1 | Boeing 747 | Saturday |
| IB 980 | MAD 09:40 | SCQ 10:55 | Boeing 747 | Sunday |
| IB 998 | ASU 10:55 | EZE 12:45 | DC-10 | Sunday |
| IB 998 | EZE 13:45 | GIG 17:35 | DC-10 | Sunday |
| IB 998 | GIG 18:55 | MAD 07:15+1 | DC-10 | Sunday |
| IB 998 | MAD 11:00 | SCQ 12:05 | DC-10 | Monday |
Glossary
- ASU: Asuncion
- EZE: Buenos Aires
- GIG: Rio de Janeiro
- LPA: Las Palmas
- MAD: Madrid
- MVD: Montevideo
- SCL: Santiago de Chile
- SCQ: Santiago de Compostela
See also: #TBT: Cubana de Aviación flights to South America in 1999.
Iberia continues to operate between Madrid and South America, being the leading airline in the market.
Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Perú, Uruguay and Venezuela are part of the schedule, with the following itinerary:
- Bogota (BOG): 18 weekly flights
- Buenos Aires (EZE): 14 weekly flights
- Caracas (CCS): 3 weekly flights
- Guayaquil (GYE): 3 weekly flights
- Lima (LIM): 11 weekly flights
- Montevideo (MVD): 7 weekly flights
- Quito (UIO): 6 weekly flights
- Rio de Janeiro (GIG): 3 weekly flights
- Sao Paulo (GRU): 7 weekly flights
- Santiago de Chile (SCL): 7 weekly flights
See also: #TBT: KLM flights to South America in 1988.
Source
- Guía Argentina de Tráfico Aéreo (GATA).
See also: #TBT: Aeroflot flights between Russia and Argentina in 1987.
