Iberia, which merged with British Airways into International Airlines Group (IAG) in January has reached an agreement with Airbus to purchase eight A330-300 aircraft, and take out options for up to eight A330 family aircraft, for Iberia’s longhaul fleet.

The A330s, which will be delivered between Autumn 2012 and Spring 2014, will replace up to 16 Airbus A340 family aircraft.

The new aircraft will be more cost effective to operate as they are around 15 per cent more fuel efficient than the aircraft that they replace. They also have an improved environmental performance. The aircraft can be easily assimilated into Iberia’s existing longhaul fleet, reducing the need for additional crew training and maintenance costs.

With the new aircraft and options, IAG will have the flexibility to determine the overall size of Iberia’s longhaul fleet and capacity in future.

Iberia’s current longhaul fleet consists of 18 A340-300 and 17 A340-600 aircraft.

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