Summary

  • Iberojet has started a weekly Madrid to Orlando service.
  • Last year, Orlando was Madrid’s largest unserved US market.
  • While Iberojet has fewer US flights than any other foreign carrier in July, Air Senegal is second.

On June 23, the Spanish-Portuguese operator Iberojet inaugurated flights between Madrid and Orlando International. It marked the carrier’s start in the US. With only a weekly operation, Iberojet has the dubious distinction – as if it matters – of being the foreign airline with the fewest US flights (excluding US territories).

Iberojet to Orlando

According to the US Department of Transportation, the link from the Spanish capital to Orlando International was served by the Spanish airline Air Comet 15 years ago in 2009, the year the carrier ceased to exist. World2Fly had two flights in March 2024, two years after it had very brief service to Orlando Sanford.

Things changed on June 23, 2024, when Iberojet commenced a Sunday operation to The City Beautiful, with the last departure on September 8. It plans just 12 roundtrip flights.

The airport pair, which covers 3,801 nautical miles (7,040 km), sees Iberojet’s all-economy, 432-seat A350-900s, of which it has two. Leisure airlines must counterbalance lower-yielding passengers with higher traffic volume. It is scheduled as follows, with all times local. Are the crew really in Florida for a week?

  • Madrid to Orlando: E9871, 17:00-20:30 (9h 30m block); Sunday
  • Orlando to Madrid: E9872, 22:30-13:10+1 (9h 40m); Sunday
Iberojet MAD-MCO

Madrid to Orlando

In 2023, approximately 44 in 100 Madrid-US passengers flew via a hub en route to their destination. Booking data shows that Orlando was the largest unserved market, with around 32,000 roundtrip passengers (44 passengers daily each way). Houston Intercontinental, Denver, Seattle, and Las Vegas followed it.

Iberojet MCO launch

Photo: Orlando International Airport

Miami, Charlotte, and Philadelphia were the top three connecting airports to/from Orlando. Due to Madrid’s geographic position and the lack of Orlando flights from Southern Europe, very few people transferred in Europe.

When all long-haul unserved markets from Madrid are considered, Orlando ranked ninth. Bangkok, Managua, Pereira, Delhi, Tokyo Narita, Tokyo Haneda, Manila, and Singapore were all larger.

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Foreign airlines with few US services

Based on July and excluding US territories, these carriers have no more than five weekly US services. It may differ at other times, so treat it as a snapshot of activity. Surinam Airlines’ Paramaribo-Miami service would have been included as it operates five weekly for most of July, but it increases to six weekly towards the end of the month.

  • Iberojet: weekly Madrid to Orlando (A350-900)
  • Air Senegal: twice-weekly Dakar to New York JFK (A340-300)
  • Sichuan Airlines: three weekly Chengdu Tianfu to Los Angeles (A350-900)
  • Uzbekistan Airways: three to five weekly Tashkent to New York JFK (787-8)
  • HiSky: four weekly Bucharest to New York JFK (A330-200)
  • Kuwait Airways: four weekly Kuwait to New York JFK (777-300ER)
  • Vietnam Airlines: four weekly Ho Chi Minh City to San Francisco (A350-900)
  • Jetlines: five weekly (A320), weekly Toronto-Miami, and twice-weekly Halifax-Orlando and Toronto-Orlando
  • Neos: five weekly (787-9), twice-weekly Palmero to New York JFK (started earlier in June), and three weekly Milan Malpensa to New York JFK
  • Xiamen Airlines: five weekly (787-9), twice-weekly Fuzhou to New York JFK and three weekly Xiamen to Los Angeles

Have you flown any of the airlines mentioned above? If so, share your experiences in the comments section.

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