Iberia’s Annual Cabin Occupancy Up

Spanish airline Iberia has reported that its cabin occupancy levels for 2007 rose by 1.8 points to 81.6% overall, and the number of long-haul passengers exceeded four million, an 87.1% increase from 2006.

Iberia has reported that occupancy of long-haul flights has climbed by another 1.6% to 87.2% last year. The long-haul market, a priority under Iberia’s 2006-2008 strategic plan, now accounts for more than 60% of all the airline’s revenue passenger kilometers.

In its third year of operation, Iberia’s enhanced long-haul businesses plus seating class saw sales growth of 18.78% in the year and occupancy levels rise by 6%, following the increases in 2006 of 25% and 10%, respectively.

The passenger load factor on these flights grew by 3.1% to reach 75.9% in 2007, while the total number of domestic passengers carried diminished by 6,5%, in keeping with company strategy. Occupancy of domestic flight to and from Iberia’s Madrid hub rose by 6.8% in the year.

On international short-haul and medium-haul flights, cabin occupancy was little changed in the year easing slightly on intra-European flights and edging higher on routes between Madrid and Africa and the Middle East. Seat supply on the latter routes was increased by 7.2% in the course of 2007, while seat sales climbed by 11.2. The number of passengers carried rose by 10.4%.