Catair is the new low-cost airline created by Iberia in an attempt to regain some of the market share it has been losing steadily over recent years to new Spanish low-cost airlines such as Spanair, Vueling and Air Europa and to British companies Easyjet and Ryanair.

CAT (as in Catalunya)-Air will start operating from Barcelona’s Prat Airport in October, the company has announced. Barcelona airport experienced a 23.1 percent increase in number of passengers this year, and CATair hopes to capitalise on increased traffic by operating flights linking Barcelona to some of Spain and Europe’s major cities.

The company has announced that it plans to operate 10 new routes from Barcelona including the following destinations:

• Malaga,
• Seville,
• Amsterdam,
• Dublin,
• Geneva,
• Zurich,
• Prague,
• Lisbon,
• Oporto,
• Moscow.
  

The company is currently involved in obtaining new aircraft via leasing, and hopes to confirm new routes and start taking bookings in August or September.