Air Europa (UX, Palma de Mallorca) president and president of parent Globalia Corporacion, Juan José Hidalgo, has outlined the airline's plans for its incoming fleet of eight B787-8s and fourteen B787-9s.
Speaking to the Spanish media, Hidalgo said the B787 fleet would be used to open up new routes to Mexico, Panamá City Tocumen International, San José Juan Santamaría in Costa Rica, Bogotá in Colombia, and Quito International in Ecuador. In the United States, Air Europa is also studying Washington Dulles as well as a possible Barcelona El Prat-Miami International route to compliment its existing Madrid Barajas-Miami service.
Hidalgo said Air Europa would also like to expand its network to include Johannesburg O.R. Tambo, abandoned by fellow Spanish operator Iberia (IB, Madrid Barajas) in May 2012, and possibly Shanghai Pudong in China.
The first five B787-8s will be delivered in 2016 while the first B787-9s will only begin to arrive in 2020. In preparation for the Dreamliner's arrival, the Spanish carrier is wet-leasing a LOT Polish Airlines (LO, Warsaw Chopin) B787-8 on a one year contract for use on flights from Madrid to Miami and Santo Domingo Las Américas.
With the arrival of the new Boeing twinjets, so the airline's existing longhaul fleet of twelve A330-200s and two A330-300s will be phased out between 2017 and 2018.
