Iberia restructuring adds more A330s in readiness for carbon taxes

SPANISH carrier Iberia will receive five new Airbus A330-300s this year, one more than scheduled as it set out to meet its parent International Airlines Group's (IAG) targets to cuts costs and boost revenues, reports Aviation Daily of New York.

A further three A330s will be delivered in 2014 under an IAG deal finalised in mid-2011 for eight General Electric CF6-80E1-powered A330-300s, designed to replace older A340-300/600s.

"The A330-300s have a 15 per cent lower fuel consumption compared to the A340-300s. The -300s were a great aircraft when we purchased them, but the high kerosene prices have made them very expensive to operate," said corporate responsibility manager Jaime Garcia Blazquez.

The European Union's Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) carbon tax and a "Stop the Clock" procedure proposed by the European Commission in November have excluded extra-European flights from the scheme after the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) General Assembly meets in the autumn.

The EU threatens to reinstate its carbon tax if ICAO does not establish a one of its own. China is ready to boycott EU-based Airbus if it does. India is making similar noises while the US has forbidden its carriers from participating in data collection needed for the tax, based on carbon emissions throughout entire flights to and from Europe and not only over EU airspace.