Iberia is acquiring the most efficient, advanced, and silent aircraft for its fleet: the Airbus A350 and the A320neo. The A350-900s are from the latest generation of aircraft and boast fuel consumption and CO₂ emissions as much as 35% lower than those they are replacing, while the A320neo emits 15% less CO₂ and 50% less nitrogen oxides.

More info about our fleet here. 

For the sake of fuel efficiency and lower CO₂ emissions we are implementing the following fuel-economy measures: a) reducing the use of auxiliary power units (APUs) in favour of greater use of ground electricity supplies; b) optimising fuel management via choice of flying altitudes; c) more efficient operational procedures such as continuous descent operations (CDO), single-engine taxiing (SETO/SETI), etc.

Iberia’s Zero Cabin Waste plan was implemented in 2014 for wastes generated on both intra-EU and extra-EU flights.

Additional measures include the substitution of newspapers and magazines with digital publications, a reduction in the use of plastic items, etc. This has led to a 12% weight reduction in waste per passenger.

The introduction of the Electronic Flight Bag and digital publications has contributed to weight reduction, reducing fuel consumption and CO₂ emissions. The weight reduction amounts to an average of 60 kg. per flight, sparing the atmosphere some 1,908 tonnes of CO₂ each year. The digital press offering covers more than 7,000 publications, and brings a monthly weight reduction of more than 20 tonnes of paper.

Since April, 2019, all electrical energy consumed by Iberia on its own properties comes from renewable sources with zero CO₂ emissions.

In addition, within five years (2020-2025) Iberia’s own solar plant is to be installed at its industrial site adjacent to the Madrid airport. The plant will generate 80 million kWh – enough to power 800 homes – and will make Iberia’s installations energy-independent, while cutting CO₂ emissions by 32,000 tonnes during its lifetime.

A project to replace conventional lighting with an LED-based system in Iberia’s Madrid airport hangars and workshops was launched in 2017. The new systems are now operational in the main workshop building and hangars 4, 5, 6, and 7. The project is expected to reduce energy consumption by nearly 1.5 million KWh per year.

This initiative is a small testament to Iberia’s commitment to contribute the communities in which it operates, ion this instance the town of Paracuellos de Jarama, near the Madrid airport. The planting of the first 1,500 native trees in November of 2019 will be followed by that of an additional 2,500 for the enjoyment of local strollers and families.

Iberia is one of 17 partners in this project, led by Spain’s aerospace technology agency INTA, to study aircraft emissions with a view to developing cleaner and more efficient engines. It is funded by the EU’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme and Canada’s National Research Centre.

Iberia, as part of the IAG Group, has committed to powering 10% of its flights with sustainable aviation fuel by 2030.

Sustainable aviation fuels have the same characteristics and performance as conventional aviation fuel (Jet Fuel A1), but are based on the use of non-fossil raw materials for their production. In addition, they are an indispensable tool for reducing the sector’s emissions in the short and medium term, as their use has been shown to reduce total life-cycle CO2 emissions by up to 80% compared to fossil fuels.