travlux

Has anyone flown Iberia Business Class recently on a trans-atlantic trip? I've read previous threads which state that service is not that great. But, those threads were from '03. Any new info would be greatly appreciated.

number_6

The service in the air is fine (not the best, but good and in the better half of trans-Atlantic J). The service on the ground varies from poor to awful, and MAD is a hellish airport (this may change with the new terminal opening). The biggest drawback for IB J is the seat -- similar to US F seats, maybe 48 inch pitch and with limited recline (not as good as the 757 on AA, for example). Really not acceptable for sleeping, but tolerable for daytime (westbound) flights. Otherwise the food is good, but not exceptional, and the wines are fine (mostly spanish, but that is good). I'm flying IB next month (but in F, which does have sleeper seats and exceptional food and wine, unlike J). In summary, AA has better J service and would be preferable to IB, but when routing or schedule dictate IB is OK.

JuPe

My friend did LIM-MAD in IB's Business Class last month and had no complains. Crew was senior and rather friendly. Food was also OK. As number_6 mentionned all the difficulties started in MAD and IB's transfer services.

LH-AC

I flew with IB from ORD-MAD in J class in March this year. I found the experience to be relatively good. The seat recline, as mentionned above, was not great but I was able to sleep. I find LH, OS, AC, AA, UA are more comfortable in J class, but IB is not as horrible as described in some of the comments. The food was acceptable both ways but I do not fly for the food. The service was professional.

travlux

Thank you for the helpful information. I will be sure to report my findings post flight.

dhuey

I flew IB biz class from Madrid to London last Sep. Service and food were good; seat was okay. Making a ticketing change was miserable.

Londonflyer

Hi, I'm looking for the same information. Need to travel to SAfrica early next year for a wedding and am tempted by a fare of £1250 on IB from LON-JNB. FOr about the same price price as WT+, plus a lot more BAEC Tier Points. Does anyone have any experience of Iberia J in Longhaul?

number_6

I've had 3 long-haul flights on IB in the past month, but all in F. Very good in F, for J I would say slightly better than WT+; definitely not worse, but also not anywhere close to NCW. So if you are choosing WT+ and IB J for same price I think IB J is a reasonable choice if the flight schedule is acceptable (to JNB it should be). The airplane safety, cleanliness and maintenance seemed quite good and the pilots were also good, similar to BA from what I could tell. IB still has awful ground handling so don't expect much help with ticketing or baggage problems though.

anandrag

Am contemplating flying on IB in F next week. Found a great fare of $2626.80 for F (and $1560.80 for J) for JFK-MAD-LIS.

Want to know how IB F is though. Flat beds? Food? FAs? Better than BA J which is my other option? Are there good showers in IB F arrivals lounge?

Thanks

fraisse10

Bump. Specific question: does anyone know on what routes IB is rolling out flat beds in J? I'm going to/from EZE/GRU in the next week and am hoping that these will be among the priorities. Any inside track or experiences, please?

fraisse10

EZE was,GRU not. I've just done a trip report if anyone is interested.

fly747first

Do you have any idea of what you are saying????? IB's international BusinessIntercontinental seats have a 51'' seat pitch, not 48''. More importantly, IB intl C Class seats have leg rests, unlike AA's 757 seats. AA does not offer any in-between meals snacks, while Iberia does.

fly747first

They will start with the routes that use A340-600 aircraft, and then they will reconfigure the A340-300s. Iberia is planning to get rid of its 747s.

STAM4NICK

Is Iberia dropping First Class alltogether? I cannot find product info on it at www.iberia.com (English) nor can I purchase F Class from its website.

I will be taking MAD to San Juan PR tomorrow and just realized I am in BIZ (assuming the new Business + thing?), but it seems for the seat map there is F? According to the schedule it is an A346. Please clarify. Thanks.

number_6

The post you reference was made over a year ago, did it take that long to find out that IB J seats are a spacious 51" and not the 48" that I guessed them to be? I admire your diligence in eeking out that extra 8cm for IB, they need every bit of it. Of course AA doesn't have any J service on its international 757 fleet as they are sold as Y, being considered unfit for a J product trans-Atlantic. In any case IB has mostly refitted its fleet by now, if it is on schedule, and the new J seats should be on all the prime routes. Maybe the worst of the new J seats, in classic IB fashion, but a huge improvement over the old seating.

IB announced in late 2004 that F was being discontinued. Then a few weeks later it announced that F would be kept on select planes (I suspect the 747s). All newly delivered plances (such as the A346s) are being configured without F but using the new-J seats. Last time I checked F was still available MAD-JFK and MAD-MIA (the only routes I personally care about). I'll fly IB F westbound but not eastbound, and I won't fly IB in J or Y; and that's my opinion on IB in a nutshell.