Spain and Turkey: Iberia and Turkish airlines offer new flights from Los Angeles

Two foreign carriers, Iberia Airlines and Turkish Airlines, are launching routes in March from Los Angeles (LAX), along with deals:

LAX-Madrid: Iberia will launch this nonstop route March 28 with three flights per week. Flights will depart LAX on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays at 5:55 p.m. (PST) and arrive the following day at 2:15 p.m. in Madrid. A Friday flight will be added from July through September.

Promotional round-trip fares, on sale through March 31, start at $769 for flights to Madrid or Barcelona (via Madrid) from March 28 to May 22 and from Sept. 4 to Dec. 13.

Iberia will use 254-seat, Airbus A-340/300s for this route,with two classes of service: economy and business (dubbed Business Plus). The 18-inch-wide economy seats offer a seat pitch (a measure of leg room) of 32 inches. Seats in the 36-seat Business Plus section are 20 inches wide, offer a seat pitch of 74 inches and recline into a bed. Business Plus fares start at $4,058, including taxes and surcharges.

Iberia is offering connecting service through Los Angeles for travelers from Fresno, Sacramento, Santa Barbara and Medford, Calif., as well as Honolulu, through a code-share agreement with American Airlines.

Info: Iberia Airlines.

LAX-Istanbul: The new Boeing 777-300ER planes that Turkish Airlines will fly nonstop on this route, starting March 3, offer a 63-seat premium economy section dubbed Comfort Class. These seats each have a pitch of 46 inches, compared with 32 inches in regular economy, and a width of 19.5 inches, or 1 1/2 inches more than in economy.

The seats also offer in-flight entertainment, including Internet and Live TV applications, and connectors for iPods or USB devices. Although all classes receive complimentary wine and beer, Comfort Class customers get more brand choices than those in economy class, plus a wider selection of appetizers, main courses and desserts.

Round-trip LAX-Istanbul fares, including taxes and fees, start at $752 in economy class for flights until April 30. Round-trip fares start at $1,450 in Comfort Class and $3,200 in business class, plus taxes and fees.

Info: Turkish Airlines, (800) 874-8875.