Soon, Iberia will also send information regarding changes to flight schedules and connecting gates.
Iberia and Iberia Express have received the awards that accredit them as the most punctual airlines in Europe in 2023, according to the ranking done by the international consultancy Cirium. The award ceremony, which took place at Tenerife Norte-Ciudad de La Laguna Airport, was attended by Miguel Ángel Rodríguez, Director General of Planning, Training and Tourism Promotion of the Government of the Canary Islands; Francisco Javier Osmán, Director of Tenerife Norte Airport; Mike Malik, Marketing Director of Cirium; Carlos Gómez, CEO at Iberia Express and Gonzalo Salinas, director of the Iberia Operational Control Center.
At this event, Iberia was recognised as the second most punctual airline in Europe and fifth in the world with 84.38% of flights on time out of a total of 170,750 flights.
“For Iberia, this award is a source of pride to be continuously at the top of the world’s most punctual airlines ranking. This award is not only recognition of the work we have done but also an impetus to continue working on perfecting the complex machinery that ensures that aircraft take off and land on time. A job, as I said, in which hundreds of people are involved, perfectly synchronised to respond to any incident that may arise, whether it be technical, due to the weather or an event at the airport of origin or destination, among others,” said Gonzalo Salinas, Director of Iberia’s Operations Control Centre, during the award ceremony.
With an on-time arrival percentage of 84.58% last year, Iberia Express was the most punctual airline in Europe and the fifth most punctual low cost airline in the world, according to Cirium’s On-time Performance Report. In addition, in the Canary Islands, the company operated nearly 16,000 flights in 2023 with a departure punctuality rate of 88.33%.
“At Iberia Express we strive to maintain high standards of efficiency and excellence in our operations in order to provide the best experience for our customers on every flight. This achievement is a source of pride for us because it serves as proof of the commitment and dedication of the entire Iberia Express team,” said Carlos Gómez, CEO at Iberia Express, during the ceremony.
To celebrate this recognition, an Iberia Express aircraft has been branded with the Cirium punctuality seal and will display this design throughout 2024. The chosen aircraft, which could be seen during the event, will also bear the name “Canary Islands” to pay tribute to this market, which has been a key element for the company from the beginning.
Carlos Gómez wanted to emphasise the important role of the Canary Islands for the airline, currently positioned as its most important market. “In 2023 we will exceed 2.8 million passengers with the archipelago for the first time, and we are already very close to reaching the figure of 20 million customers in the 12 years that we have been operating in the region. The Canary Islands account for around 40% of our production, so we are proud to come here to receive and celebrate this important award”.
Punctuality, the Iberia Group’s hallmark
Iberia has been among the most punctual airlines in Europe, and also in the world’s top 10, for the last eight years. In fact, last January – the latest report available – Iberia was the most punctual airline in the world.
Furthermore, Iberia Express has always maintained, since the company was launched in March 2012, high standards of operational excellence that have allowed it to build a track record of success during these 12 years: Iberia Express was the world’s most punctual low-cost airline for five consecutive years, between 2014 and 2018, and the most punctual airline in Europe in 2019, 2022 and 2023.
Iberia Express reinforces its commitment to the Canary Islands
In 2023, Iberia Express increased its operations to the Canary Islands by almost 12% compared to 2022, offering a total of 16,000 flights to Gran Canaria, Tenerife, Lanzarote, Fuerteventura and La Palma. In addition, the airline has been reinforcing its offer to the archipelago at times of high demand such as Carnival, Easter and Christmas to encourage the arrival of tourists to the islands and, at the same time, facilitate travel for residents.
In the summer season of 2024, which will start next April and will last until the end of October, Iberia Express will once again increase its operations to all the islands to more than 2 million seats and, in the case of Tenerife, it will exceed 800,000 seats during these months.
The airline also offers connecting flights to more than 100 international destinations of the Iberia Group. Specifically, in 2023, more than 22% of Iberia Express customers on flights to the Canary Islands were connecting flights to other cities in Europe, Latin America and the USA.
Iberia now sends operational information on its flights via WhatsApp
Iberia now sends operational information on its flights via WhatsApp. The airline’s passengers can receive communications through this channel on subjects such as the check-in process, the assigned boarding gate and, soon, any changes to their flight schedule and connecting gates. WhatsApp is thus added to the airline’s other means of communication, such as SMS and emails.
This new service is available to customers registered on the iberia.com website and those belonging to the Iberia Plus loyalty programme. In order to receive messages, customers must include their telephone number when they make their reservation, in the “Manage your reservation” section, or in the private area of the website if they are Iberia Plus cardholders.
Every week, the airline estimates that it sends around 80,000 notifications via WhatsApp to more than 25,000 customers.
In addition, passengers can ask questions on this same channel, where the Iberia AI bot will answer their questions. When customers require information beyond the chatbot’s capacity, an Iberia customer service agent will take over and provide the necessary information.
Iberia, whose WhatsApp channel is one of the most used in Spain, thus expands its operational information channels as part of its omnichannel strategy, which aims to provide customers with the information they need as quickly and efficiently as possible
Vicky is the co-founder of TravelDailyNews Media Network where she is the Editor-in Chief. She is also responsible for the daily operation and the financial policy. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Tourism Business Administration from the Technical University of Athens and a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Wales.
She has many years of both academic and industrial experience within the travel industry. She has written/edited numerous articles in various tourism magazines.
