[Anonymous]

[MartynSinclair]

I have just made 2 flights on Iberia LHR – Madrid – LHR. What I was initially fearing due to some previous comments, actually turned out to be interesting and enjoyable.. Here are the differences..

1. Free drink and snack on BA, not so on Iberia

2. The 2 airbuses used by Iberia were sparkling inside and out and were very comfortable

3. For you curtain dividers, yes there was a curtain divider on both sectors, although I was behind, not infront

4. Phones have to switched off until inside the terminal, can not (or not meant to be ) be turned on whilst the aircraft is moving

5. Safety briefing, everyone was told to remove headphones. Electronic items should have remained off until take off

6. (4 and 5) were not monitored!!!

7. This is probably the most interesting. Due to the apparent late arrival of a connecting flight into Madrid, 10 minutes before scheduled departure, a group of school children joined the flight. All carried all their luggage with them and clearly there was no room in the overheads. The children were taking a long time to settle, due to the baggage problem and at one point the Captain came out of the flight deck to hurry everyone along otherwise the slot would have been missed.

Eventually the Captain fired up the engines and started to move, WITH SOME PASSENGERS still standing. I have never seen this before, neither had the dead heading Cabin Crew member (QANTAS) who was sitting next to me.

On landing in Heathrow, all electronics were meant to have been switched off, but the children I could see, were all watching films on lap tops…

All in all though, it was not a horrific flight, in fact, BOTH the legs (BA flight numbers on IB metal) would IMHO give BA a run for their money.

Well done IBERIA….

[MrMichael]

Hi Martyn, glad you had a positive experience. As an IB basher and someone that does around thirty round trips a year, I personally find on the whole BA to be far superior to IB.

[jazzcharley]

@MartynSinclair – thanks for this; I’m about to do the same trip this weekend, taking a short break to visit the Prado with Mrs JC. But I do hope we’re not overwhelmed by schoolchildren…!

[MartynSinclair]

Experienced the IB business class offering, London – MAD – OPO.. Have to say I was very very pleasantly surprised. Far from being a second rate product I thought it was presented extremely well.

OK, there were no hot towels… but menu’s, shorts out of bottles, not miniatures, proper food service, clean aircraft. The only negative comment would be the cabin crew were very sociable with each other which slowed the service down a bit.

Even on the internal MAD-OPO, a good standard, with hot food and endless drinks…. on a 55 minute leg.

I couldn’t review the return sectors in IB (business) as I somehow managed to get the return flights one month later than required. So when I turned up at OPO this morning to be told there was no flight to MAD and then on to London. slight panic….

Managed to get a TAP flight to London for Euros 176, which I felt quite ok with..

But back to Porto I think… in a months time…

[MartynSinclair]

On my 10th IB sector this year between London / Madrid and Porto, mix of business and economy.

All I can say is that BA ought to be ashamed of their own business offering when compared to their Spanish partners. If IB can offer hot food on a 50 minute sector, I think BA ought to reconsider their own food offerings on 2 hour sectors.

The satellite lounge in Madrid offers the biggest salad bar I’ve seen in an airport lounge (I’m sure someone will say there is a bigger one somewhere) and the hot food offering was varied. Not sure whether there was a menu service.

Yesterday’s Mad to Opo was very late, so may even have my first EU 261.

[rodders]

I took IB a few months ago from Madrid to Boston on their A330 and was very impressed, flat bed, direct aisle access, great service and food and wine selection was excellent, so clearly they are doing the right thing!

[TiredOldHack]

And I leave for AMS this afternoon, tomorrow to fly Iberia from AMS to Santiago de Chile, via Madrid.

I do hope Iberia’s business cabin is up to scratch. After an economy flight with them back from Chile some years ago, I swore “never again” but I understand their biz product is quite good.

Is it?

[MartynSinclair]

The IB afternoon flight, MAD-LHR was on a 340-300 with the old style business cabin. It was very very comfortable, even though the seat had a funny indent – but it was flat.

Really did make their British relations business offering look and feel “loco”…..

[TiredOldHack]

Thanks. I know they use a 340 on the afternoon flight to SCL, but not sure whether it has the old cabin or the new one.

Also flying Iberia business to Quito at the end of March, so regarding this one as a “This is what you’ve let yourself in for” flight, if that doesn’t sound too unkind.

[MartynSinclair]

ToH – Iam presuming the cabin used on yesterday’s MAD – LHR was IB’s old business. Combined with the satellite lounge at MAD the offering was very very good. Pity that IB doesn’t have a larger network. The cabin was spacious, the seats comfortable – food was a bit iffy, but it was short haul and I was very well fed in the lounge.

I guess BA just don’t need to modify their business offering, simply because the airline has more routes to more destinations.

It really is shameful how BA are leaking news of a new product for 2017 and the presumably take 5 years to finish the conversions……

Look forward to hearing about your IB flights.

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