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The First Steps by IBERIA

The history of IBERIA begins on June 28, 1927, the day on which the signature that constitutes the company is placed, at that time called 'IBERIA, Air Transport Company'. This first document provided for the inaugural routes, which included several of the main cities of the peninsula, as well as the Canary Islands, and some central points in the north of the African continent.

That same year, on December 14, and with the presence of King Alfonso XIII, the first flight of a IBERIA plane was made, connecting, how could it be otherwise, the cities of Madrid and Barcelona. At that time, the airline had three Rohrbach Roland airplanes, tri-engines that allowed to transport up to ten passengers, in addition to two crew members, with their luggage and cargo. It sounds ridiculous compared to modern aircraft, but its top speed was 205 km / h.

Opening up to new destinations

IBERIA continued to operate within Spain and in territories close to nationals for almost a decade, until, between the end of the 1930s and the beginning of the 1940s, the routes that linked Madrid with London, Lisbon, Paris appeared. and Rome. By 1946, transatlantic flights were a fact, and the company's first were to Buenos Aires. Those flights were historic, in addition, because they were the first in which flight attendants were incorporated.

A few years later, in August 1954, the company inaugurated another key route for its international expansion: Madrid - New York. By then, it already had Super Constellation aircraft, called Pinta, Niña and Santa María, as well as the famous Christopher Columbus caravels.

Reactors lead the way

The 1960s represented the revolution not only for IBERIA, but for air navigation in general. Reactors succeeded propellers, and airplanes became much more powerful. The Spanish was one of the standard bearers of this revolution with its reactors, which not only made it easier to reach several high-demand American destinations, including Havana, but also received distinctions. His DC-8 aircraft was known in those years as 'the king of long distances'.

The '70s would begin for the airline with another momentous milestone: the acquisition of its first Jumbo, a Boeing B-747 that was called Cervantes, as another tribute to national history.

This was also a decade in which IBERIA multiplied the number of destinations reached by its routes several times. Many capitals and large European cities such as Budapest, Warsaw, Athens or Istanbul joined. Some Middle Eastern cities were even added.

Product diversification

By 1974, flying was becoming more and more common, and even people with health problems, with fear of heights and even children without their parents did it. In order to provide a personalized response to this problem, IBERIA launched its popular 'red jackets' service, which has always distinguished it.

At the same time, the Aerial Bridge was born, as the continuous offer of trips between Madrid and Barcelona is called, which was representing a serious problem due to the impressive number of people who wanted to move from the capital to Catalonia and vice versa. Attentive to the needs of the public, IBERIA launched those routes that did not require prior reservation, and invited to travel in the day.

In these months, the InforIBERIA system, today known as ServIBERIA, was also publicized, for telephone attention to the company's customers, who wanted to consult questions such as flight rates, schedules of each route, or to reserve their tickets, at any time and weekday.