Iberia celebrates 70 years of operations in New York, its first destination in the United States. On August 3, 1954, one of the Spanish airline’s three Super Constellations, christened Santa Maria, flew for the first time between Madrid and New York. Five years later, scheduled operations began.
Iberia long-haul cabin crew member Andres Iwasaki surprised customers on Saturday’s flight IB621 to commemorate the special occasion. On Aug. 3, 2024’s first service of the day he performed Frank Sinatra’s NEW YORK, NEW YORK.
The first service between Madrid and New York had a duration of 15 hours due to weather conditions (regularly lasted between nine and ten hours); the aircraft had a capacity for 19 passengers in first class and 55 for economy class. The flight crew consisted of 10 people in total.
Iberia was scheduled three times a week and tickets were priced at $436 in first class and $334 in economy class. Currently, tickets can be purchased through the company’s website and tickets are priced at 234 euros in economy class and 1,486 in business class each way.
The route between Madrid and New York was consolidated in the following years, and its success is evidenced by the increase in the number of passengers. In its first five months of operation, from August to December, it carried around 2,000 passengers. The following year, the route carried 7,300 passengers. By 25 years later, in 1979, the service had carried more than 2.2 million passengers.
Super Constellation, a pioneer in commercial aviation
The introduction of three Super Constellations made it possible to open transatlantic services, such as New York, Havana, and Buenos Aires. In 1952, the Spanish airline purchased three Lockheed L-1049 Super Constellations: the first landed in Madrid on June 24, 1954. All three aircraft were named after Christopher Columbus’ caravels: Santa Maria, Niña and Pinta.
Iberia in New York today
Iberia currently has two daily flights scheduled between Madrid and New York with the Airbus A350-900, which is 30% to 35% more fuel efficient than its predecessors and powered by Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engines. This model seats 348 passengers in three classes: 31 in Business Class, 24 in Premium Economy and 293 in Economy.
In 2024, the Spanish airline has put on sale around 435,000 seats to fly between the Spanish capital and the Big Apple. In addition to New York, Iberia flies to Miami, Boston, Chicago O’Hare, Los Angeles, Dallas/Fort Worth, San Francisco and Washington-Dulles.
