A rate conflict that leaves other airlines hole

The IAG group airline takes advantage Ryanair’s withdrawal to expand your offer in the archipelago 5% during the winter season. The measure includes 116 additional flights and the change to planes with greater capacity on its Canary Routes.

The perfect opportunity. Only 24 hours after Ryanair announced The cut Of 400,000 squares in the Canary Islands for its conflict with the Aena Rates, Iberia Express has taken the opposite step. The company will add about 30,000 additional seats Between October 2025 and January 2026, which represents an increase of 5% compared to the initially scheduled.

30,000 extra places. The plan includes 116 additional flights and more than 150 aircraft changes for others of greater capacity, mainly A321neo models. Tenerife Norte will be the great beneficiary with more than 15,000 additional places and up to 8 daily frequencies with Madrid, precisely the airport most hit by Ryanair’s withdrawal. Gran Canaria adds almost 8,300 more seats and will operate 10 daily frequencies with the capital, while the rest of the islands total 4,500 additional places among all.

Beyond opportunism. The airline assures that the movement is not just reagent. “This increase in capacity in the Canary Islands reflects the firm commitment we have acquired with the islands since the beginning of our operations,” says Isabel Rodríguez, commercial director of Iberia Express. The company emphasizes that optimizes the use of its fleet to take advantage of the fact that around 21% of its Canarian passengers fly in connection with other destinations through Madrid.

THE PRICE WAR. To accompany the increase in capacity, Iberia Express has launched its ‘Express Days’ campaign with prices from 13 euros for Canarian residents and from 20 euros for the rest of the passengers on the Madrid-Gran Canaria route. A strategy that seeks to stimulate demand after summer peak months and compete directly with cheap flights that characterized Ryanair’s offer.

The fight between Ryanair and Aena. Ryanair’s decision to reduce 400,000 places in the Canary Islands is part of a broader offensive. The Irish airline will eliminate one million seats in regional airports and will cancel 36 direct routes in Your tension escalation with Aena For airport rates. The cuts include the complete closure of its base in Santiago de Compostela, the suspension of all flights to Vigo since January 2026 and the end of the operations in Tenerife Norte, precisely where Iberia Express now concentrates its greatest reinforcement.

The justification of the tariff war. Eddie Wilson, CEO of Ryanair, has attributed These measures to the 6.62% increase in airport rates that AENA will apply. “We cannot justify a continuous investment in airports whose growth is blocked by excessive and uncommunchanting rates,” Wilson said. For his part, Aena responded hard, accusing Ryanair of practicing “Phariseism, bad education and blackmail” through its president, Maurici Lucena. With the withdrawal of Ryanair, key connections disappear and a capacity hole is generated than other airlines, such as Iberia Express, are willing to fill.

Cover image | Gabor Koszegi

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