The IAG International Airlines Group is planning to enter the longhaul low-cost market next year The Wall Street Journal has reported. Once in place, IAG will become the last of Europe's three large airline conglomerates - the others being Lufthansa Group and Air France-KLM Royal Dutch Airlines - to adopt the strategy.
According to company sources, the launch is expected to occur in June next year with the carrier to operate out of Barcelona El Prat, an existing hub for the group's current LCC brand, Vueling Airlines (VY, Barcelona El Prat).
Possible routes the long-haul LCC will cover include Los Angeles International, San Francisco, Buenos Aires Ministro Pistarini, Havana International, Tokyo Narita, and Santiago de Chile. A pair of A330s will cover initial operational demands.
The announcement comes after Norwegian (Oslo Gardermoen) recently unveiled its transatlantic operational plans given the recent conference of US service authority to its Irish/EU subsidiary Norwegian Air International (Dublin International) and the upcoming delivery of its maiden B737 MAXs. Norwegian's intercontinental operations will be bolstered by its network of regional European feeder flights. It expects to launch flights to the United States from Barcelona in June 2017, with flights to Argentina and Chile due later on in the year.
