Spanish carrier Iberia has announced a new nonstop route between Madrid and Toronto starting next June, with the airline scheduled to operate five weekly frequencies with its Airbus A321XLR fleet.

Clocking in at around nine hours flight time, this puts the route among the longest active A321XLR flights today. Iberia was the launch customer for the A321XLR over a year ago and uses the long-range narrowbody to great effect across its transatlantic network.

Iberia Launches 9-Hour Toronto A321XLR Flights

Credit: Iberia

The airline will launch the nonstop service between Madrid Barajas Airport (MAD) and Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ) on June 13, 2026, with five weekly flights every Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Measuring in at around 3,270 nautical miles (6,060 km), the outbound service from Madrid has a block time of nine hours, which passengers will be spending onboard the single-aisle A321XLR.

The route launch is part of the carrier’s Flight Plan 2030 strategy, which has seen $6.9 billion (€6 billion) investment in renewing and expanding its fleet from 48 long-haul aircraft to 70. Toronto becomes Iberia’s 145th destination in its network and gives travelers another option when flying to and from Madrid, with Canadian flag carrier Air Canada also operating a direct service during the summer months.

As noted by Iberia, there are already around 70,000 passengers traveling between MAD and YYZ each year, with Iberia set to add 37,000 seats during the upcoming summer season. María Jesús López Solás, Iberia’s Chief Commercial, Network Development and Alliances Officer, commented,

“Operating this route with the Airbus A321XLR is not just an operational decision, but a statement of principles: innovation, efficiency, and sustainability are the pillars on which we build our future.”

Expanding Across The Atlantic

Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Toronto is the latest addition to Iberia’s transatlantic network, joining other new routes opened in recent months. This includes flights to Orlando, Recife, Fortaleza, and Monterrey, with Recife and Fortaleza both served by the A321XLR. These two routes have not launched yet, with Recife starting in December and Fortaleza beginning the following month. Iberia will fly to a total of four cities in Brazil this winter season, which will also include services to Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo.

Along with adding new routes, Iberia is also increasing frequencies on existing pairings, including its flights to Boston, New York and Washington D.C. The airline uses its A321XLR fleet to fly to Boston and Washington, while New York gets widebody service in the form of the Airbus A330 and Airbus A350.

Iberia recently debuted the A321XLR on another of its transatlantic routes, using the narrowbody to fly between Madrid and Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic. This route became the longest A321XLR flight in Iberia’s network (by distance) so far at 3,617 nautical miles (6,699 km), although its block time of under nine hours put it below Madrid-Washington.

Related

Iberia Debuts Airbus A321XLR On Another Transatlantic Flight

The Spanish airline has debuted the Madrid-Santo Domingo service, using its single-aisle A321XLR.

Onboard An Iberia A321XLR

Credit: Airbus

Iberia’s A321XLRs can seat up to 182 passengers across two cabin classes, with 14 in business and 168 in economy. Featuring Airbus’ new Airspace cabin, many were apprehensive about the prospect of flying on a narrowbody for nine hours or longer, but Iberia’s A321XLRs are by all accounts a comfortable aircraft to travel on.

Equipped with Iberia’s in-flight entertainment (IFE) system on 4K 12″ touchscreens, the economy cabin’s Recaro R3 seats offer 18″ of width and between 30–31″ pitch. In the business cabin, passengers can stretch out on fully lie-flat seats and watch entertainment on 18″ IFE screens.

Iberia recently celebrated one year of A321XLR flights since the type debuted on November 14. With an advertised range of 4,700 nautical (8,700 km), Iberia can fly the A321XLR on long transoceanic routes and achieve fuel savings of up to 40% compared to using widebody aircraft.