Iberia’s customers can now book to new destinations in the Middle East and South Africa. Since last Friday, under code shares with British Airways the Spanish airline is offering flights to Abu Dhabi, Kuwait, Doha, Bahrain, and Muscat in the Middle East, and to Cape Town in South Africa. The expanded code share arrangement also extends to Johannesburg where Iberia’s supply of four flights per week has been increased to at least one flight every day.

Meanwhile, British Airways has added its code to Iberia flights to San José, Costa Rica and to Panama City, and also to Iberia’s Madrid-Johannesburg flights. Iberia’s flights to Havana will also carry the BA code from mid April.

The new code-sharing arrangements are a consequence of the merger of Iberia and British Airways on January 24th of this year, and in coming months they will be expanded to give their customers an even larger choice. The merger gives Iberia passengers access to BA destinations in Asia and the Middle East, while BA passengers get access to Iberia’s wide range of Latin American destinations.

Passengers will also enjoy better connections and timetables, since the two airlines will coordinate their services. In coming weeks and months the flights operated by each airline will progressively become available on the other’s web site and telephone reservations lines.

It will also be possible to combine fares of the two airlines, and to choose the most suitable. Other advantages to passengers include access to more than 120 VIP lounges in airports around the world. The merger will also make Iberia and British Airways stronger and more competitive, enabling them to offer better services to customers.