Air Europa inaugurates a direct route between Madrid and Istanbul
Air Europa, the airline of Spanish tourism group Globalia, launched a new direct route between Madrid and Istanbul on Monday, May 12, aiming to strengthen its position as a strategic connector between Asia and Latin America.
This move makes Air Europa the only Spanish airline to operate this non-stop connection, on a route previously dominated by Turkish carriers such as Turkish Airlines and Pegasus.
The new service begins with four weekly flights—on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays— with plans to gradually increase frequency until reaching daily round-trip flights by July.
This new route is integrated into the long-haul hub operated by Air Europa at Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport, with flight schedules strategically designed to ensure smooth connections with overnight flights to Latin America—one of the airline’s key markets.
Flights between Madrid and Istanbul will be operated with Boeing 787 Dreamliners. Air Europa’s fleet includes 28 Boeing 787s out of a total of 54 aircraft, complemented by Boeing 737s for short- and medium-haul routes. In 2024, the airline strengthened its long-haul strategy by adding three new Dreamliners, enabling it to offer 3.5 million intercontinental seats this year.
Strategic expansion in Latin America
The new Istanbul route comes amid Air Europa’s ongoing long-haul expansion, particularly in Latin America, where it maintains a strong presence. In 2024, the airline carried 12.2 million passengers to more than 50 international destinations.
From mid-June through September, the airline will boost several high-demand routes with daily flights to destinations such as:
• Medellín (Colombia)
• Asunción (Paraguay)
• Havana (Cuba)
• Panama
It will also increase frequencies to:
• Cancún and Punta Cana (from 4–5 to 5 weekly)
• New York, which will rise from 5 to 7 weekly flights during the summer
These additions join existing daily flights to Bogotá, Buenos Aires, São Paulo, Lima, Miami, and Santo Domingo, highlighting a clear strategy to enhance transatlantic connectivity.
Istanbul: gateway to Asia
With this move, Air Europa aims to attract not only European and Latin American traffic but also to position itself as a key link in the flow between Asia and the Americas. Istanbul, thanks to its strategic geographic location and growing role as a hub for Euro-Asian air traffic, becomes a central component in attracting passengers from Central Asia, the Middle East, the Caucasus, and Southeast Asia seeking to connect with Latin America via Madrid.
This strategy aligns with the hub-and-spoke model that Air Europa has been developing from its Madrid base, boosting its competitiveness against major global carriers and positioning the Spanish capital as a key intercontinental connection point between the three continents.
Responsable English Feed en Aviacionline. Reportero gráfico.
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