[Anonymous]

[Corporate-gal]

I am flying with Iberia later this year to Costa Rica from LHR via Madrid. The LHR-MAD leg will be in Business and the MAD-SJO leg will be in Business Plus. Despite my trawl of the internet I cannot find any reviews of either of these classes of travel with the airline. I find this quite surprising as Iberia are claiming that Business Plus is their new class of travel up front.

Do you know where I could find such reviews or, indeed, has any other traveller experienced either of these services?

Many thanks

[JuliusORiordan]

I’ve flown Iberia Business Plus to South America on quite a few occasions, and in my view Iberia are probably the most improved airline of the past decade. The seat is only lie-flat (and not horizontal flat bed) but compares very favourably to other airlines with similar seating, ie Lufthansa. Gone are Iberia’s surly cabin crew and dilapidated lounges, replaced by ultra-modern Madrid Barajas Terminal 4 and generally very good service. My only note of caution would be to ensure that your schedule permits at least 1hr 30 connection time in Madrid, as it’s vast, and the Heathrow Hell factor means that your flight from London stands a better than average chance of being delayed.

[VintageKrug]

I have never flown them, but reports concur with the statement above this; Iberia is streets ahead of where it was a few years ago.

However, that is not saying much.

It is still a wedgy seat.

The seat review site you need is:

http://www.flatseats.com/Reviews/ib-f.htm

and you can read more on Business Plus here:

http://www.iberia.com/OneToOne/v3/program.do?prgOid=8510&tabId=3&menuId=06020101020000&language=en&country=GB&market=GB&IS_ANONYMOUS=true

Let’s hope the delay isn’t as long as that web address…..

[PrinceAkeme]

I am flying Royal Jordanian from LHR to AMM in Crown Class, Can anyone describe the biz class seats or service.

——————————————————————————–

[Travelling4Fun]

I have recently started travelling to and from South America with Iberia and wrote this in December in my diary, trying to emulate the style of Business Traveller Magazine (the sincerest form of flattery of course !) :
Tried and Tested Rio de Janeiro to Madrid with Iberia

First impressions –
Rio always has an element of chaos about it and travelling just before Christmas only made it worse. The terminal is a grey depressing building with little or no natural light. Check-in at the Iberia desk was very quick and efficient but getting through passport control took 50 minutes. In comparison the security check was very quick, largely because everyone was being held up at passport control. The Iberia lounge is shared with a number of other airlines including Aerolineas Argentinas and so I expected there to be some good wines available. There were none. There were some spirits and soft drinks. Other refreshments consisted of some tired sandwiches, a few crisps and some nuts. The single toilet for men was grim : the bar of soap looked like something out of my bathroom and had clearly seen better days and there were no air fresheners or any other amenities.

Boarding –
At 20.45 we commenced boarding and were welcomed on board by a friendly and attentive crew. Thirty-five minutes later a choice of cava or orange juice was offered. A nice touch was the linen napkins which accompanied the drinks. Amenity packs were handed out and then a choice of two Brasilian newspapers were offered. In answer to my enquiry about English language newspapers I was told there were none. I later discovered copies of that day’s International Herald Tribune when I explored the cabin. Spanish magazines, the menu and wine list were all distributed soon after.

Seat comfort –
The Business Plus cabin was only half full. With a seat configuration of 2-2-2 this meant that it seemed particularly spacious. Seats are firm and comfortable with good control for recline which is lie flat – almost horizontal. Seats are fitted with seat-back screens, reading lights and adequate storage pockets.

The flight –
We took off slightly late at 21.51 and the seat belt signs went out 20 minutes later. 10 minutes later the hot towels were distributed. These were very good being sufficiently moist and served on a china saucer. A lot of announcements were made, most of which were inaudible, before dinner was served at 22.45. I had starters which included a beef consommé (rather too salty and only lukewarm), duck with pear chutney (which was excellent) followed by farfalle with gorgonzola cheese and walnuts which was also very good. I chose not to have deserts but a selection of cheeses served with guava jam and coffee rounded off this delicious meal. A well chosen, if not extensive, choice of Spanish wines and other drinks with well written tasting notes complemented the meal. Water was distributed and the lights turned out. My TV screen would only allow me access to 5 channels. When I queried this the steward told me that Iberia had bought the plane from Air France and had ‘a lot of problems with it’. For the rest of the journey I chose to sleep, although if I had been hungry fruit and snacks were available throughout the night.

Arrival –
We were woken about 80 minutes before arrival with more hot towels. Breakfast was disappointing. The omelette was grey and the accompanying chicken breast and roesti potatoes were tasteless. Because the food was always served from the front by the time it reached my row it was not very warm. The aircraft touched down at 10.18 and eight minutes later we were on the stand.

Verdict –
The service and comfort more than made up for any inadequacies. Nice touches included the Chief Steward coming around shortly before the flight ended telling each passenger who had onward connections what to do next. Given the price of £1750 for the return from Rio via Madrid to London, it is very good value.

BY THE WAY the service for frequent travellers is DREADFUL as you can read on the thread ‘Iberia – unresponsive’. Enjoy your flight !

[Travelling4Fun]

More on the poor customer service in the ‘IBERIA – unresponsive’ thread (frequent flyers) .

[Travelling4Fun]

No solution and it seems that IBERIA really does have a ‘we don’t care for our customers’ attitude.

[OPebble]

T4 at Barajas has fired all the surly IB lounge staff and replaced them with people from one of the major Spanish Hotel chains who, shock horror, have learnt how to “smile” at customers!

[Author]

Posts