The operating environment has changed so much in the last decade that the business case for status quo at Iberia cannot be made. The Spanish market is deflated economically. LCCs are growing in Spain and in Europe. It certainly doesn't help Iberia that it's sister airline Vueling is sooo much cheaper to operate (thanks to much lower wages, etc.) as a comparison.
Unfortunately, with the exception of currently strong Latin American connections to Spain, Iberia looks very uncompetitive. Once the Middle Eastern airlines start flying 787s and A350s directly to Lima, Panama City, Bogota (Qatar and Emirates already serve Sao Paulo and Buenos Aires), Iberia's influence in supporting world trade beyond Europe will decline further. BA can provide one stop service to the ME or India from Miami, Mexico City and a few other Latin American cities - Iberia cannot at the moment through Madrid (although perhaps through another alliance member). Still, the continuity of service is not strong for Iberia.
So, while we all want to protect and promote high wages in this industry, the argument becomes more challenging when cheaper LCCs and more efficient ME carriers directly compete with legacy carriers - can operating revenues match operating costs while protecting margins? That's the challenge in this changing environment...
