Iberia Lineas Aereas de Espana SA (IBLA.MC), Spain's largest airline, Tuesday said its passenger load factor was 76% in December, down from 77% a year earlier.

Load factor, a measure of occupancy used in the airline industry, is the percentage of all seats offered which are occupied on flights.

In a regulatory filing, Iberia said its passenger load factor for 2008 was 80%, down from 81.6% in 2007.

Iberia has reduced the number of seats on offer by 0.5% last year as the world travel market weakens, with overall demand falling 2.5% from 2007, Iberia added.

Company Web site: www.iberia.com

-By Santiago Perez, Dow Jones Newswires; +34 91 395 8121; santiago.perez@dowjones.com

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