Air Europa starts operating Abu Dhabi-Madrid wet-lease flights for Etihad

As of June 24, 2025, Air Europa has started operating regular daily services on the Madrid-Barajas (MAD) to Abu Dhabi (AUH) route, on behalf of Etihad Airways. 

The Spanish airline is operating one of Etihad’s two daily services to Madrid (EY103, which departs Abu Dhabi at 14.00 local time) under a wet-lease agreement. 

This is the first time Air Europa, which has a significant long-haul network linking Spain to Latin America, has operated scheduled services in the Middle East. 

Air Europa is deploying one of its Boeing 787-9 aircraft to fulfill this service. This aircraft is fitted with 32 Business class and 307 Economy seats. This is the same aircraft type Etihad uses on its own Madrid services, although in this case the cabin is fitted with a lower density configuration featuring a total of 290 seats (28 in Business and 262 in Economy class). 

The wet-lease agreement adds to the ongoing collaboration between the two airlines, which have already been code-sharing on routes between Abu Dhabi and Spain. Upon announcing this new partnership, both airlines highlighted that they would continue to explore ways to strengthen their strategic collaboration. 

This move also reflects the growing traffic between the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Spain. Etihad’s Dubai-based competitor, Emirates, announced on June 20, 2025, that it will be boosting its Barcelona service from October 2025 with a third daily flight, operated by a Boeing 777-300ER. The post Air Europa starts operating Abu Dhabi-Madrid wet-lease flights for Etihad appeared first on AeroTime.

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