Iberia Airlines Iberia Plus - Iberia vs. AA between JFK and MAD

Which is better for comfort and reliability for two persons between JFK and MAD: Iberia (Airbus 340) or American (Boeing 757)?

Hi,

Welcome to flyertalk!^,

Would the flight be in Business or Economy/Coach ( and do you have any AA or oneworld status?

Regards

TBS

Economy class. AA frequent flyers.

I would go with Iberia because on AA you won't have a personal AVOD, from my experience, and I'll always choose to fly on a wide body jet on long flights because the cabin feels much less cramped.

I would go with Iberia because on AA you won't have a personal AVOD, from my experience, and I'll always choose to fly on a wide body jet on long flights because the cabin feels much less cramped.

I agree with the widebody part! Although currently Iberia does not offer AVOD for Coach pax on neither long haul nor short haul

Welcome to Flyertalk!

As stated before, I would go with Iberia because, being 2 people, you will have a more pleasant flight experience on their A340.

AA 757 has a 3-aisle-3 seat configuration. With 2 people, either one will be stuck in the middle seat (ouch!) or both of you will fly separated by an aisle.

In the more convenient A340 configuration 2-aisle-4-aisle-2 you can have a nice row of 2 seats, with the best of both worlds, window and aisle, for yourselves.

Entertainment systems on board are, in both cases, a trip back to the eighties or even before. A few scattered screens along the cabin and full stop, so nothing which really could make a difference here.

Also, AFAIK, Iberia offers complimentary alcoholic drinks with the lunch/dinner (wine, for example) while AA charges extra for them.

Word of advice, onboard service (or should I say flight attendants 'kindness') is not an Iberia high. They work with some kind of 'ask for everything' motto. I mean, other than serving the meals, if you need, f.e., water during the flight, it will be pretty much pointless to press the call button or wait for a flight attendant because they become invisible between the food services. You have to get up, go to the galley and ask for it.

Anyway, I would choose an Iberia A340 over an American B757.

Thank you all for your responses. Very helpful. I certainly agree with the advantages of the 2/4/2 configuration over the 3/3. Getting up to get something like a drink is no problem. It's even better: a little exercise!

The other option is the AA 757's 9BC and DE - these are exit rows with two seats side by side and virtually unlimited legroom, no more or less recline than any others, but immovable arm rests and no genuine windows to look out of and subject to some traffic from FAs (but great seat pitch, and as I am 6'4" / 193 cm, these are my preferred 757 "International" seats.

10A and 10F are in rows of 3, but have no seat in front of them (as there are no 9A and 9F) and also have virtually unlimited pitch / legroom, and provide seat access in a windows seat without having to ask for exit rights from two seatmates. Exit row 17 has impeded seat recline due to row 18 being an exit row; exit row 18 is OK, but 3 across on each aisle side, (but - 18A and F only recline very slightly, only BC and DE recline normally).

On Iberia, or best seat comfort on the A340-600, seats 22 AC and JL have increased seat pitch; 35 A and L are impeded by exit hatch intrusion, but 35AC and JL are exit row seats with greater pitch.

On the A340-300, 22 is the exit row, and is subject to considerable traffic. Remember many exit row seats have immovable armrests and slightly less seat width.

seatexpert.com and seaguru.com are your friends... ;)

The only other point is in my experience AA will take somewhat better care of you on the ground if things go pear-shaped.


Thank you all for your responses. Very helpful. I certainly agree with the advantages of the 2/4/2 configuration over the 3/3. Getting up to get something like a drink is no problem. It's even better: a little exercise!

We flew IB from JFK to Madrid on July 25/26. Other than flight delays which killed a day of vacation unless you consider hanging around the Madrid Iberia terrace lounge all day fun, the comfort of the Iberia 340 coach was good. My wife and I were able to move our seats to the front row in coach (9I and 9J if I recall). We had great legroom (I'm 6'5") and I did sleep for a few hours. I agree with a previous poster about feeling less cramped in a bigger plane - the 757 is too small for such a long flight imho. We did fly AA back in Business Class (from Barcelona) on a 767 and the year before Business Class from Madrid on Iberia on a 340. Food was better on AA, but for some reason, I liked our seats better on IB. Service was also better on Iberia.

One additional point to previous post. J Diver makes an excellent point about AA service. If you are AA elite and are flying Iberia (even if you bought the ticket codeshare thru AA for an IB flight) and things go sideways, you may be subject to problematic solution suggestions by IB ground staff. If you are AA flying on an AA ticket and AA equipment, things may go better. I've posted on the IB forum in more detail about this.

I've opted for Iberia for our flight in September. I'll report on our experience after we return at the end of September.

Excellent! We'll look forward to your report.

I've opted for Iberia for our flight in September. I'll report on our experience after we return at the end of September.

A an AA platinum with no Iberia status, I have twice been op-upped from coach to business on Iberia metal (out of maybe 8-10 such transAtlantic flights). This has never happened to me on American.

Being very nice at check-in and speaking Spanish to the gents may have helped. Either way, I was obviously thrilled.

We were upped to BC from Economy last year from MAD to JFK as well. Depends on the day you travel most of the time. We were flying on the Sunday afternoon before Labor Day.

I've opted for Iberia for our flight in September. I'll report on our experience after we return at the end of September.

Hopefully your flights went well.


I would have said you might want to fly AA because of your status. Priority check-in, security, boarding and most importantly the chance to get an exit row or some other better seats.