When I was checking out IAG’s 2025 Annual Report for Tuesday’s Aer Lingus article I noticed an interesting comment on page 8. According to IAG, “Madrid is the new Miami”. They mean that Madrid is the new hub for Latin America and the Caribbean, noting a 43% increase in the number of Latin American visitors received into Madrid between October 2019 and October 2025. Madrid is certainly something like Miami for IAG – the large airline group will operate 1,132 flights to Latin America and 206 flights to the Caribbean from the Spanish capital this September. But is Madrid really the new Miami? I decided to find out and am only partly convinced. Read on to find out why… Advertisement: This article was written using data from OAG Schedules Analyser: visit oag.com. Thanks OAG! I took a look at schedule data for the month of September for every flight to and from Miami and every flight to and from Madrid to answer four questions: Q1. How do Madrid & Miami compare based on standard airline KPIs? Q2. How do Madrid & Miami compare based on range of destinations? Q3. Are Madrid & Miami equally competitive to Caribbean & Latin America? Q4. What is the real reason behind IAG’s statement? I divided the western hemisphere into three groups – Caribbean, Latin America and North America. For the purposes of this analysis I included Mexico in North America but all other Central American countries in Latin America. The boundaries are not always precisely defined. As shown in the map below, Bimini in the Bahamas is only 64 miles from Miami classified as Caribbean. Meanwhile Key West, another island with an airport, is 126 miles southwest of Miami and classified as North America. Generated by the excellent Great Circle Mapper: visit gcmap.com Used with permission | play with the map here How do Madrid & Miami compare based on standard airline KPIs? The table below shows high level statistics from the OAG schedule data. As you would expect, Miami and Madrid have quite different patterns of flights and capacity. Miami has 8.1 times the flights of Madrid to the Caribbean and 42% more flights to Latin America. Miami also features many more seats from Madrid to the Caribbean – 4.3 times as many as Madrid. But Madrid actually beats Miami in terms of the number of number of seats to Latin America, with just over 906 thousand versus 818 thousand seats in September 2026. When it comes to total capacity commitment and capital employed, Latin America and the Caribbean seem much more important for Madrid than Miami. In Available Seat Kilometre terms Madrid will be 16.9% ahead of Miami to the Caribbean this September, and 167% ahead to Latin America. This is down to geography alone – short-distance flights are better served with small aircraft and shorter stage lengths, leading to more flexibility in terms of number of destinations served and frequency. Overall Caribbean and Latin America are more important to Madrid than they are to Miami. Only 33.9% of Miami’s ASKs go to or from the two regions, while 41.2% of Madrid’s ASKs do. It is likely that revenue contribution may be proportional. Both in absolute and relative terms, Caribbean and Latin America are more important to Madrid than they are to Miami. Madrid is not just a “new Miami”. As a gateway to the two regions it has surpassed Miami. How do Madrid & Miami compare based on range of destinations? The map below shows all Caribbean and Latin American destinations served from either Madrid or Miami. The red airports are served from Madrid alone, the blue ones just from Miami and the orange airports from both. Generated by the excellent Great Circle Mapper: visit gcmap.com Used with permission | play with the map here Only seven destinations are Madrid exclusives and all of these are in South America. These represent 315 (9.2%) of Madrid’s 3,410 flights to the region. Meanwhile 37 Caribbean routes and nine Latin American routes are Miami exclusives. Together these represent 3,022 (37.0%) of 8,157 flights. So in terms of the range of destinations served, Madrid cannot match Miami. The comparison is not entirely fair. Small airports like Bimini are never going to be served by capital intensive twin-aisle planes from Europe, in the same way that large planes are unlikely to fly into second- and third-tier European cities from Miami. Are Madrid & Miami equally competitive to Caribbean & Latin America? Madrid and Miami seem structurally different in terms of the airlines which serve Caribbean and Latin America. 18 airlines serve the two regions from Madrid, but 29 carriers fly from Miami. However that does not mean Miami is more competitve than Madrid. The most committed airline to the two regions from Madrid is Iberia with 55.0% more flights than the second most committed – Air Europa. Iberia has roughly 39% of the flights, seats and capacity. Meanwhile in Miami American Airlines is the largest airline with 10.5 times as many flights and 12.2 times as many seats as the second largest, Envoy Air, who operate many flights under the AA-associated American Eagle brand. Together AA and Envoy have 65.3% of flights, 61.7% of seats and 52.4% of ASKs. The Herfindahl Index of market concentration gives Madrid a score of roughly 23% for flights, seats and ASKs. Meanwhile Miami’s scores are 43.5% concentration of flights, 39.0% concentration of seats and 29.7% concentration of ASKs. Miami is much less competitive than Madrid. What is the real reason behind IAG’s statement? Read more
Is Madrid really the new Miami?
Brief
Madrid’s emergence as a gateway to Latin America and the Caribbean is supported by OAG schedule analysis for September 2026: the city now accounts for a larger share of transatlantic ASKs to the two regions than Miami and even offers more seats to Latin America (906k vs 818k). The author compared every Madrid– and Miami–flight for September, dividing the western hemisphere into Caribbean, Latin America and North America (Mexico in North America). Although Miami runs far more Caribbean frequencies (8.1× Madrid) and serves many small exclusive island routes, Madrid allocates a higher proportion of its total capacity to the regions (41.2% of ASKs vs Miami’s 33.9%) and is less carrier-concentrated. The difference reflects geography and carrier strategy—Iberia’s dominance from Madrid vs American/Envoy dominance in Miami—so IAG’s claim has merit in capacity terms but not in route breadth or market structure.
Why it matters
IAG frames “Madrid is the new Miami” after a reported 43% rise in Latin American visitors to Madrid between October 2019 and October 2025; IAG will operate 1,132 Madrid–Latin America and 206 Madrid–Caribbean flights in September 2026 (OAG data).
Key details
- September 2026 schedules show Madrid has 906,000 seats to Latin America versus Miami’s 818,000; Madrid is ~167% ahead of Miami in ASKs to Latin America and 16.9% ahead to the Caribbean, despite Miami having 8.1× the flights to the Caribbean and 42% more flights to Latin America.
- Route breadth favors Miami: 37 Caribbean and 9 Latin American routes are Miami-exclusive, representing 3,022 (37.0%) of its 8,157 regional flights; Madrid has seven exclusive (all South America) routes accounting for 315 (9.2%) of 3,410 regional flights.
- Market structure differs sharply: 18 carriers serve Madrid vs 29 from Miami; Iberia accounts for ~39% of Madrid’s flights/seats/ASKs (55% more flights than Air Europa), while American Airlines + Envoy make up 65.3% of Miami’s flights, leaving Miami much more concentrated (Herfindahl flights: Miami 43.5% vs Madrid ~23%).