International Airlines Group (IAG) today announced relevant changes in the management leadership of its airlines in Spain. Marco Sansavini will be the new CEO and president of Iberia. The current head of Vueling will replace Fernando Candela, who has held the presidency and directed the Spanish flag airline since May 2023 on an interim basis. Candela will continue as CEO of Level.
Marco Sansavini (Bologna, 1967) returns to Iberia after having led Vueling in one of the most delicate moments in the airline industry. With a long history in the sector (he held positions of responsibility at KLM and the former Alitalia), he assumed the presidency of the low cost company in 2020 after having served as commercial director of Iberia.
From Barcelona, ??he has been in charge of rebuilding Vueling’s activity in recent years after the pandemic stopped and dealt with an intense cabin crew strike in Spain at the end of 2022. The airline also has open negotiations with the pilots to update the collective agreement. Without this, both the company and the IAG group consider it difficult to boost investments in Vueling as they would like. The arrival of new Boeing aircraft to renew the fleet is in the air.
Under the command of Sansavini, the low cost has maintained leadership at El Prat airport and has consolidated itself at Orly and Gatwick. He has also managed to deseasonalize Vueling’s operations with greater activity in the winter season. This summer the airline will concentrate its operations even more in Barcelona, ??where it will increase flights by 7%. In his new stage in Iberia he will have to pilot the purchase of Air Europa and consolidation of the Barajas hub.
He is replaced at the head of Vueling, which turns 20 in 2024, by Carolina Martinoli (Buenos Aires, 1969). Member of the board of directors of British Airways between 2021 and 2023 and of Iberia from 2021, Martinoli is currently director of People, Corporate Affairs and Sustainability and member of the management committee of the Group’s parent company. Previously, she led a team of more than 13,000 people as Chief Brand and Customer Officer at British Airways, following her time at Iberia as Chief Customer Officer. She will also be the first woman to run an airline in Spain and one of the few in Europe.
The changes will be effective from April, as reported by IAG.
“The fact that we are making these changes internally, with managers who are on the IAG management committee, is a testament to the quality of our professionals. The deep experience of our senior team is one of the advantages of the group structure” , highlighted the CEO of IAG, Luis Gallego. The head of the airline group has also positively valued the role played by Candela at the head of Iberia, especially for “closing the agreement on handling, which is of great importance for the future of the company.”
For IAG, which today presented its 2023 results, “the Spanish businesses, Iberia and Vueling, are reporting very positive performance and are in an unbeatable position to benefit from the growth in traffic between Latin America and Europe, and also from the valuable market intra-European aviation”, highlighted Gallego.
Sansavini, who will take the reins of Iberia in a matter of a month, has assured that “the last three years have been the most intense and exciting of my professional life, which is why I want to thank the great team at Vueling that has made it possible for the company to be stronger and more resilient than ever today. “It is an honor for me to take over from Fernando Candela at the head of Iberia and for him to be able, together with all the people who are part of this great company, to continue building its future,” he added.
Carolina Martinoli, for her part, highlighted that “Vueling is a dynamic and innovative airline and it will be an honor for me to succeed Marco [Sansavini] when the company turns 20. I look forward to working with the talented Vueling team to build together the next chapter of the company”, he assured.
