Miguel Praga

✈ Iberia to add second A321XLR to its fleet in March, with an original deal with Airbus despite supply chain delays. The Spanish airline plans to use the new A321XLR for the Madrid-Washington route, resuming with a weekly frequency, then increasing to four times a week in April and five in August. The first A321XLR has been operating daily Madrid-Boston flights since November 14, set to double in June. Iberia expects six A321XLRs from Airbus in 2025, and the eighth by early 2026. The aircraft seats 182 passengers and offers a 30% fuel savings over previous models, with a range of up to 8,700 kilometers.

💥 At Washington Reagan airport, regulation allows one controller to handle both planes and helicopters after 21:30 due to reduced traffic. A controller left the post early, allowed by the tower supervisor, leading to non-standard staffing levels for the traffic volume. A helicopter, instructed to fly below 200 feet and along a specific path, was instead at 300 feet and 0.5 miles off course. The plane was on its correct path. The helicopter pilot, familiar with the route, was instructing a passenger on night flying. Experts suggest the controller should have been more proactive. Both black boxes from an incident have been recovered.

🛫 Aena, headed by Maurici Lucena of Spain's PSC, proposed privatizing some airport control towers, including Palma de Mallorca's. Podemos at Palma's council opposed, motioning against it. Both PSOE, governing Aena, and PP voted against privatization, aligning with Podemos and against their government ally, Vox.

✈️ Iberia and British Airways, responding to a tragic plane crash in Washington that killed all 64 occupants, offer passengers flexible ticket conditions for flights to Washington until February 1. Travelers can make cost-free changes for any affected flights in the itinerary, regardless of travel status or class. Flights to Washington are connected via New York (American Airlines) or London (British Airways). The airlines extend condolences to victims, families, and colleagues at American Airlines and American Eagle.

🚩 Former President Donald Trump addressed the media on Thursday afternoon regarding the Wednesday night CRJ plane crash in Washington DC, which resulted in 64 fatalities. Trump implied that Obama and Biden's policies allowed less qualified individuals to hold responsible positions like air traffic control, linking it to the crash. Eight years ago, Trump repealed such aviation policies, focusing on merit for air traffic control jobs. Transport Secretary Sean Duffy, in office since the plane crash day, revoked policies supporting diversity, equality, and inclusion in favor of merit-based hiring within the Transport Department.