Spanish carrier Iberia once had a fleet of up to 30 Boeing 757-200s, according to data from ch-aviation. Iberia operated this single-aisle aircraft until 2006 when it removed the last ten from its fleet. So, what has happened with these 757-200s ever since? Let's find out.

Receiving the 757

Iberia had plenty of historic aircraft that merit their stand-alone articles, including the Junkers G-24, the Stinson 108-3 Voyager, the Rohrbach R-VIII Roland, and the SE 210 Caravelle. The 757 had a range of 3,700 kilometers (nearly 2,000 nautical miles). According to the Spanish flag carrier's historic fleet website, it could carry between 183 and 200 passengers and was powered by Rolls-Royce engines.

Iberia received its first Boeing 757 on June 18, 1993. This aircraft was baptized as Sierra de Guadarrama in a public event attended by then Prince Felipe, current King Felipe VI.

Photo: Barcex via Wikimedia Commons.

Iberia's first 757, registration EC-420, is still in operation. It is flying for Cygnus Air, a Spanish cargo company operating for DHL Express. Boeing delivered two additional 757s to Iberia in 1993. The other ones had registrations EC-421 and EC-422. The former currently flies for Parallel Express in the United States, while EC-422 is stored in Spain after flying for Hola Airlines between 2003 and 2010 and for Privilege Style between 2010 and 2022.

In 1994, Iberia received five Boeing 757s. One of these planes, registered EC-FYN when it flew for Iberia, is currently stored. The remaining 757s received in 1994 are still active. Two fly for Icelandair and have registrations TF-FIR and TF-FIU. The other two fly for Amerijet International in the United States, registered as N1902S and N286GB.

In 1997, Iberia took delivery of two 757s, registrations EC-GCB and EC-GCA; both of these planes were eventually scrapped. The following year, Iberia received four 757s, registrations EC-GBX, EC-FFK, EC-HDG, and EC-FEE; of these, the last three have been scrapped. EC-GBX appears to be receiving maintenance at Istanbul but has not flown since 2019.

Between 1999 and 2000, Iberia received 16 additional planes, eight a piece. Icelandair is currently operating half of the 1999-received jets, having received four of these former Iberia planes. Cargojet and Privilege Style have one each, but the remaining two were scrapped.

Photo: Konstantin von Wedelstaedt via Wikimedia Commons.

Finally, from the eight 757s received by Iberia in 2000, two are currently flying with Icelandair (who, as we can see, received most of Iberia's former non-scrapped 757 fleet). One is flying for the Argentinian Air Force, one for 2Excel Aviation (although it is currently stored), two for DHL Air (Austria), and one for Amerijet International. The last one is currently stored. EC-HIX, the final 757 received, is operated by DHL Air in Austria.

A look at Iberia’s current fleet

As of August 2023, Iberia has a fleet of 112 aircraft. Since 2009, the Spanish flag carrier shifted to an all-Airbus fleet, leaving behind the times when it flew Boeing, DC, or MD-based fleets.

Employing data from ch-aviation, we see Iberia's fleet is, on average, 9.7 years old. For narrowbody short and medium-haul operations, Iberia has six Airbus A319-100s, 27 A320ceos, 16 A320neos, 15 A321ceos, and six A321neos. The Spanish carrier has 16 Airbus A330-200s, eight A330-300s, and 18 A350-900s for long-haul. This last model is Iberia’s flagship aircraft of the decade.

Photo: photosounds/Shutterstock.

Iberia has two regional branches, Iberia Express and Air Nostrum. The first has a fleet of 26 aircraft, including 14 Airbus A320-200s, four A321-200s, and eight A321neos. On the other hand, Air Nostrum has 45 aircraft: 11 ATR 72-600s, 27 CRJ1000ERs, six CCRJ200ERs, and one CRJ-900.

Did you ever fly onboard Iberia’s Boeing 757-200s? How did you find the experience? Let us know in the comments below.

Source: ch-aviation.