Iberia, the national airline of Spain, is about to acquire a new CEO and President.
International Airlines Group (IAG) made the announcement that Fernando Candela will succeed Javier Sánchez-Prieto as the leader of its Spanish subsidiary, Iberia, on May 4, 2023.
Since 2019, Candela has served as both the Chief Transformation Officer at the IAG group and the CEO of LEVEL, a long-haul, low-cost subsidiary of IAG based in Barcelona. He will take over as President and CEO of Iberia in June.
Prior to that, he was in charge of Iberia Express, another low-cost division of the business that runs a number of feeder flights for Iberia out of its hub at Madrid-Barajas (MAD).
According to Iberia’s official communiqué, Sánchez-Prieto is leaving both IAG and the airline industry generally on his own accord, in order to pursue other professional projects.
The closure of the Air Europa acquisition, which might greatly increase the airline’s hold on the Spanish and Europe to Latin America sectors, will be the most urgent issue Candella will have to deal with as the new CEO.
The European Competition authorities have not yet approved the merger, though, and they may protest if the emerging airline gains an excessive amount of market dominance.
