Spanish airline Iberia has become part of the joint business run by its fellow IAG-owned carrier British Airways and Qatar Airways.
Oneworld alliance members BA and Qatar Airways have been expanding their joint business in recent years and added 42 countries to their shared network in September 2022.
The latest move sees Iberia joining the BA-Qatar Airways business from this month and then introducing a new daily service from its Madrid Barajas hub to Doha from 11 December 2023.
Iberia will operate Airbus A330-200 aircraft with 288 seats across business and economy cabins on the route to Doha.
Fernando Candela, CEO of Iberia, said: “We are really excited about the launch of our Madrid-Doha route. Through QJB (Qatar Joint Business) hubs in London and Doha, we are building the much-desired bridge between Spain and more than 200 destinations in Asia, Australasia, the Middle East and Africa.”
Akbar Al Baker, Qatar Airways’ group CEO, added: “Our passengers will now have more opportunities than ever to connect to different destinations across the British Airways, Iberia and Qatar Airways’ networks.”
Doha-based Qatar Airways also holds a 25 per cent stake in IAG, which owns both Iberia and BA, as well as Aer Lingus, Vueling and LEVEL.