Iberia: TRAFFIC STATISTICS FEBRUARY 2006

Traffic – measured in revenue passenger-kilometres (RPK) – increased by 5.0% compared to February 2005 while capacity grew by 3.1%.

The load factor improved by 1.4 points to 76.1%, reaching a new record for this month.

February was a good month for the medium and long haul markets.  In the international medium haul the load factor had a good performance, especially in flights to the European Union (+6.7 points), being Denmark and France the best performers. 

In the long haul sector the mix improved leading to a significant increase in yields. Ecuador, Chile and Brazil had a good evolution.

The load factor in the domestic market was negatively affected by the strong increase in competitors’ capacity as well as the different distribution of holiday periods. Yields improved in relation to last year.

The Company took delivery of a new Airbus A340/600 in February 2006, bringing to 29 the number of A340s. The new aircraft came equipped with Iberia’s new Business Plus class. The newly-designed seats used in Iberia’s “Business Plus” seating section on intercontinental flights earned top marks in a survey conducted by Skytrax, a prestigious aviation market consulting firm.

Since March 1st Iberia increased the number of frequencies of direct flights between Madrid and Johannesburg, from five per week to a daily frequency.

Iberia has incorporated the electronic ticket in flights to Tangier, Casablanca and Marrakech. The electronic ticket is available in 58 international routes and in all domestic destinations, including the air shuttle Madrid-Barcelona, as well as code sharing flights with other partners of oneworld.

Iberia’s on board service has been given the quality certification ISO 9001 by AENOR, the Spain’s official standards bureau, proving the good quality of the procedures as well as of the cabin attendants’ selection and training.