Spain's Air Europa bucks trends and expands short-haul network at Madrid

Air Europa is ignoring the current Spanish headwinds and launching three new short-haul routes from Madrid-Barajas Airport, a strategy which sets it apart from larger and lower-cost competitors such as Ryanair and easyJet which both have announced route cancellations for Madrid as the economy in Spain further deteriorates and as airport charges were raised. The new Air Europa routes are Madrid to Brussels, Valencia and Bilbao. Iberia is the market leader on all three routes and enjoys a monopoly position on Madrid to Valencia, which is operated by its regional affiliate Air Nostrum.

Air Europa, a full service network carrier and a subsidiary of Spain's largest travel and tourism company Globalia group, is building a hub at Madrid as it most likely sees opportunities in the troubles hitting its main Spanish competitor. Iberia has been paralysed in its efforts to reduce costs by the combative SEPLA pilots union that stubbornly continues to resist the creation of Iberia's low-cost subsidiary Iberia Express, which launched in Mar-2012.