Barcelona for a day with Iberia in J
Aug 14, 2017, 3:40 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: HEL
Programs: AY+ Gold, SK EBS
Posts: 191
Barcelona for a day with Iberia in J
The Preamble
I needed 120 Tier Points to get back up to BA Executive Club's Bronze level. Baby steps, I know.
The British Airways forum's Tier Point Run thread said "Go to Spain. Stop off in Madrid. It'll be fun."
So I did.
I booked a trip to Barcelona, a city that I love but hadn't visited in almost ten years. I would leave on Friday after work, overnight in Madrid, spend Saturday and Sunday in BArcelona, overnight in Madrid again and fly back on Monday morning (late for work).
That meant travelling LGW-MAD-BCN-MAD-LGW with Iberia Express (I2) in business class for a grand total of Ģ235 and 120 Tier Points.
The things we do for the points.
Fair warning: this first part doesn't involve any flights. If you want to skip to those, I'll add the links here:
LGW-MAD on I2 in J
MAD-BCN IB A320 J
The Great Journey Begins
My trip began auspiciously at London's Victoria station.
Somebody walking around on the tracks in South London had shut down all trains from Victoria to Gatwick Airport, which meant a sweaty detour via St. Pancras.
I was running late, and getting increasingly worried I'd miss my flight.
But it turned out I needn't have worried.
A two hour delay. When I got to Gatwick my plane hadn't even left Madrid.
"At least I've got the lounge," I thought. There are new BA lounges at Gatwick, and as I was flying on their sister airline - a faithful Oneworld member - I'd have access.
"Do you have a silver card," the girl on the desk said, "or" - she looked at her laminated sheet - "a gold one?"
I said no.
"Iberia Express has an arrangement with the No.1 lounge downstairs," she said, handing me back my boarding pass.
But, I said, I'm flying in business, on a Oneworld airline, and this is a Oneworld airline's business class lounge. Do you see what I'm saying?
"Iberia Express has an arrangement with the No.1 lounge," she repeated. "It has nothing to do with British Airways."
I gave up in the end. Three individual members of BA ground staff told me the same thing, and my attempts to make them see reason failed.
At least the No.1 lounge isn't a bad place. There's free food (though it's limited to one meal per guest and the portions are tiny), free drinks (including spirits; not including champagne) and great views of the runway.
My only complaints would be that it was busy and that there aren't enough plugs. But the friendly staff and free beer made up for that.
My flight's original departure time of 20.50 came and went, until at 22.00, just as the lounge was closing for the day, our gate was announced.
Everyone lined up long before the gate opened. Boarding took a little while, given that it was a full flight of tired and frustrated people.
We pushed back just after 23.00, a little over two hours late.
Next: Iberia Express LGW-MAD and IB MAD-BCN in business.
I needed 120 Tier Points to get back up to BA Executive Club's Bronze level. Baby steps, I know.
The British Airways forum's Tier Point Run thread said "Go to Spain. Stop off in Madrid. It'll be fun."
So I did.
I booked a trip to Barcelona, a city that I love but hadn't visited in almost ten years. I would leave on Friday after work, overnight in Madrid, spend Saturday and Sunday in BArcelona, overnight in Madrid again and fly back on Monday morning (late for work).
That meant travelling LGW-MAD-BCN-MAD-LGW with Iberia Express (I2) in business class for a grand total of Ģ235 and 120 Tier Points.
The things we do for the points.
Fair warning: this first part doesn't involve any flights. If you want to skip to those, I'll add the links here:
LGW-MAD on I2 in J
MAD-BCN IB A320 J
The Great Journey Begins
My trip began auspiciously at London's Victoria station.
Somebody walking around on the tracks in South London had shut down all trains from Victoria to Gatwick Airport, which meant a sweaty detour via St. Pancras.
I was running late, and getting increasingly worried I'd miss my flight.
But it turned out I needn't have worried.
A two hour delay. When I got to Gatwick my plane hadn't even left Madrid.
"At least I've got the lounge," I thought. There are new BA lounges at Gatwick, and as I was flying on their sister airline - a faithful Oneworld member - I'd have access.
"Do you have a silver card," the girl on the desk said, "or" - she looked at her laminated sheet - "a gold one?"
I said no.
"Iberia Express has an arrangement with the No.1 lounge downstairs," she said, handing me back my boarding pass.
But, I said, I'm flying in business, on a Oneworld airline, and this is a Oneworld airline's business class lounge. Do you see what I'm saying?
"Iberia Express has an arrangement with the No.1 lounge," she repeated. "It has nothing to do with British Airways."
I gave up in the end. Three individual members of BA ground staff told me the same thing, and my attempts to make them see reason failed.
At least the No.1 lounge isn't a bad place. There's free food (though it's limited to one meal per guest and the portions are tiny), free drinks (including spirits; not including champagne) and great views of the runway.
My only complaints would be that it was busy and that there aren't enough plugs. But the friendly staff and free beer made up for that.
My flight's original departure time of 20.50 came and went, until at 22.00, just as the lounge was closing for the day, our gate was announced.
Everyone lined up long before the gate opened. Boarding took a little while, given that it was a full flight of tired and frustrated people.
We pushed back just after 23.00, a little over two hours late.
Next: Iberia Express LGW-MAD and IB MAD-BCN in business.
Last edited by Chokkoubin; Aug 16, 2017 at 2:39 pm
Aug 14, 2017, 4:15 pm
#2
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: HEL
Programs: AY+ Gold, SK EBS
Posts: 191
Take off: LGW-MAD Iberia Express J Class
IB3717 LGW-MAD 11/08/17
A320-200
STD: 20.50 ATD: 23.07
STA: 00.10 (+1) Landed 01.51 (+1)
Iberia Express operates an A320 on this route. There were two rows of seats in business, with the middle seat blocked in standard European business fashion.
There were two passengers in business. The other guy worked for Iberia, and he spent a lot of the flight chatting with the crew.
Take off was smooth, and as soon as the seatbelt sign went off I was asked if I wanted to eat.
Not what I wanted to eat, *if*.
There was only one choice: pasta.
Everything came on one tray - the pasta, a side salad with sun dried tomatoes and anchovies, and a small square of cake that tasted like burnt sugar.
I only had water to drink, but the other guy was knocking back a few gins instead of having a meal. Maybe he'd got into the BA lounge and ate there?
The pasta was a bit undercooked, but nice enough. It came in a tomato sauce with some melted cheese that had congealed into a single clump. The flight attendant kept my water glass filled up, which I appreciated.
By the time my tray was taken away we were about an hour into the flight and around half way to Madrid.
There's no built in IFE on I2, but this plane at least offered streaming entertainment via WiFi.
There was an annoying catch: to access the entertainment - even the flight information and map - you have to create a Club Express account.
I didn't want to do it, but in the interests of journalism I signed up. It wasn't worth it.
There were a few episodes of TV shows I hadn't heard of, some bad films and some weird compilation albums under the amusing name "Eurovibes".
The moving map was also very basic and didn't seem to work properly - the 'distance remaining' tab stayed at zero km for the whole flight.
Before long we were on descent into Madrid. After landing the flight attendant in charge made an announcement advertising I2's new routes - something I haven't heard on any airline before.
We pulled up to Terminal 4 at Madrid Barajas airport, and I walked through the enormous, deserted terminal to find the way out.
MAD T4 is a beautiful building, possibly my favourite airport terminal I've visited. The design cues that LHR T5 took from it are easy to see, with the wide open space and architectural engineering left on display.
It also has what must be the best, most stylish baggage reclaim area on earth (if you're into that retro, slightly Austin Powers vibe it gives off).
I made my way through baggage reclaim and down to the metro station - again, like LHR T5 the rail connections are right there in the terminal building. Why can't every airport have that?
Except the delayed flight meant I'd missed the last metro, as in the way I'd planned to get to my cheap hotel in nearby Barajas.
I went outside to the taxi rank - pro tip: don't do this. The five minute journey cost me €20.
By this point it was well past 2am and I felt it. I'd have to be up at 07.00 for my next flight, MAD-BCN on IB.
A320-200
STD: 20.50 ATD: 23.07
STA: 00.10 (+1) Landed 01.51 (+1)
Iberia Express operates an A320 on this route. There were two rows of seats in business, with the middle seat blocked in standard European business fashion.
There were two passengers in business. The other guy worked for Iberia, and he spent a lot of the flight chatting with the crew.
Take off was smooth, and as soon as the seatbelt sign went off I was asked if I wanted to eat.
Not what I wanted to eat, *if*.
There was only one choice: pasta.
Everything came on one tray - the pasta, a side salad with sun dried tomatoes and anchovies, and a small square of cake that tasted like burnt sugar.
I only had water to drink, but the other guy was knocking back a few gins instead of having a meal. Maybe he'd got into the BA lounge and ate there?
The pasta was a bit undercooked, but nice enough. It came in a tomato sauce with some melted cheese that had congealed into a single clump. The flight attendant kept my water glass filled up, which I appreciated.
By the time my tray was taken away we were about an hour into the flight and around half way to Madrid.
There's no built in IFE on I2, but this plane at least offered streaming entertainment via WiFi.
There was an annoying catch: to access the entertainment - even the flight information and map - you have to create a Club Express account.
I didn't want to do it, but in the interests of journalism I signed up. It wasn't worth it.
There were a few episodes of TV shows I hadn't heard of, some bad films and some weird compilation albums under the amusing name "Eurovibes".
The moving map was also very basic and didn't seem to work properly - the 'distance remaining' tab stayed at zero km for the whole flight.
Before long we were on descent into Madrid. After landing the flight attendant in charge made an announcement advertising I2's new routes - something I haven't heard on any airline before.
We pulled up to Terminal 4 at Madrid Barajas airport, and I walked through the enormous, deserted terminal to find the way out.
MAD T4 is a beautiful building, possibly my favourite airport terminal I've visited. The design cues that LHR T5 took from it are easy to see, with the wide open space and architectural engineering left on display.
It also has what must be the best, most stylish baggage reclaim area on earth (if you're into that retro, slightly Austin Powers vibe it gives off).
I made my way through baggage reclaim and down to the metro station - again, like LHR T5 the rail connections are right there in the terminal building. Why can't every airport have that?
Except the delayed flight meant I'd missed the last metro, as in the way I'd planned to get to my cheap hotel in nearby Barajas.
I went outside to the taxi rank - pro tip: don't do this. The five minute journey cost me €20.
By this point it was well past 2am and I felt it. I'd have to be up at 07.00 for my next flight, MAD-BCN on IB.
The lounge-issue is strange!
Aug 15, 2017, 3:02 pm
#4
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: UK
Programs: BA Gold, AA 1MM lifetime gold, Starwood gold, Marriott Gold Elite
Posts: 719
This is not the first time we have heard of BA LGW lounge staff denying entry to Oneworld J customers, ever though the oneworld rules say you have access to any Oneworld carrier operated J lounge when flying a Oneworld airline in J, irrespective of tier status.
The BA lounge staff at LGW need re-training. However, with cost cutting as aggressive as it is at BA, I doubt there will be any money released to retrain them. It's quite depressing to have to teach them their jobs repeatedly and worst of all, they have the sheer arrogance to assume the customer is wrong.
The BA lounge staff at LGW need re-training. However, with cost cutting as aggressive as it is at BA, I doubt there will be any money released to retrain them. It's quite depressing to have to teach them their jobs repeatedly and worst of all, they have the sheer arrogance to assume the customer is wrong.
Aug 15, 2017, 4:50 pm
#5
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: HEL
Programs: AY+ Gold, SK EBS
Posts: 191
It was extremely weird - I got some good answers from this thread in the always helpful BAEC forum.
This. Absolutely. There's clearly either some training issue or (and this seems more likely) they're being told to send non-BA passengers to the No.1 Lounge instead, for whatever reason.
This. Absolutely. There's clearly either some training issue or (and this seems more likely) they're being told to send non-BA passengers to the No.1 Lounge instead, for whatever reason.
Aug 16, 2017, 2:34 pm
#6
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: HEL
Programs: AY+ Gold, SK EBS
Posts: 191
Saturday: MAD-BCN
The next day
I woke up at 7, having managed about three or four hours' sleep, dragged myself out of bed and down to the Metro station for the quick hop to MAD T4.
The premium security queue had no one in it at all and I was through straight away. The only holdup was my phone going to sleep, meaning I presented the guard at the boarding pass scanner with a blank screen. She laughed.
I headed straight for the lounge - Iberia's Sala Dalí. It's available to passengers travelling to destinations within the Schengen area, and can be found just across the bridge from the premium security checkpioint.
I already mentioned I love MAD T4's architecture.
The lounge is set above the main concourse, but is 'open air', if that makes sense. The seating consists of a few cafe tables, a couple of bar-style seating areas and a lot of slightly worn leather armchairs (with a couple of sofas thrown in). It's due to be refurbished soon, and I can see why. It's not an unpleasant place to be, but it is a little tired.
The shower room I used kind of captured this. It was far nicer than, say, BA's ones at LHR. It had tiled walls and a fairly large shower stall. The water pressure, however, was appalling. The shower was less a shower, more a kind of spout that some water fell out of. The water temperature also fluctuated wildly.
Before long it was time to head to my gate.
IB930 MAD-BCN 12/08/17
A320-200
STD 09.30 ATD 09.43
STA 10.45 Landed 10.41
One thing you can say about Iberia is that they really do enforce priority boarding. On every flight I took with them the gate agents would turn away large numbers of people trying to get on board before it was their turn.
I turned up as the gate opened and strolled right through - surprisingly there was a passport check, despite it being a domestic flight.
I settled into my seat, enjoyed the views of the tarmac as we taxied to the runway (I didn't expect to see FOUR AA aircraft parked at T4S, where were they going?)
It was an all-male crew, which I don't think I'd seen before. They served a hot breakfast in J after take off.
There wasn't a choice of food, you ate what you were given. In the photo above I'd already eaten the main - a plain omelette served with two cherry tomatoes. There was also fruit (nice) and a croissant (stale).
After the meal the crew made a pass through the J cabin offering water. Shortly after we were in Barcelona, after an approach that took us out to sea and along the coast.
Not being much of a chain hotel guy (I just think they're boring, even if that's a sacreligious thing to say round here) I stayed in a Pensión in the Gothic quarter.
Barcelona's a beautiful city, but incredibly busy. The city government is running a campaign, 'Compartim Barcelona' or 'Let's share Barcelona', aimed at promoting better relations between the city's residents and the horde of tourists that descends every summer.
As you might have read, though, there's been a lot of unrest over the impact tourism is having, not just in Barcelona but across Spain, on housing stock and rents. I lost count of the number of 'F*** TOURISTS' graffiti I saw.
But still, it's a fantastic place. Interesting if you're a political nerd like me too - there are plenty of banners hanging from apartment windows calling for Catalan independence.
Here's a printable piece of anti-tourist graffiti before we head on to the final instalment: The Journey Home (Unplanned)
I woke up at 7, having managed about three or four hours' sleep, dragged myself out of bed and down to the Metro station for the quick hop to MAD T4.
The premium security queue had no one in it at all and I was through straight away. The only holdup was my phone going to sleep, meaning I presented the guard at the boarding pass scanner with a blank screen. She laughed.
I headed straight for the lounge - Iberia's Sala Dalí. It's available to passengers travelling to destinations within the Schengen area, and can be found just across the bridge from the premium security checkpioint.
I already mentioned I love MAD T4's architecture.
The lounge is set above the main concourse, but is 'open air', if that makes sense. The seating consists of a few cafe tables, a couple of bar-style seating areas and a lot of slightly worn leather armchairs (with a couple of sofas thrown in). It's due to be refurbished soon, and I can see why. It's not an unpleasant place to be, but it is a little tired.
The shower room I used kind of captured this. It was far nicer than, say, BA's ones at LHR. It had tiled walls and a fairly large shower stall. The water pressure, however, was appalling. The shower was less a shower, more a kind of spout that some water fell out of. The water temperature also fluctuated wildly.
Before long it was time to head to my gate.
IB930 MAD-BCN 12/08/17
A320-200
STD 09.30 ATD 09.43
STA 10.45 Landed 10.41
One thing you can say about Iberia is that they really do enforce priority boarding. On every flight I took with them the gate agents would turn away large numbers of people trying to get on board before it was their turn.
I turned up as the gate opened and strolled right through - surprisingly there was a passport check, despite it being a domestic flight.
I settled into my seat, enjoyed the views of the tarmac as we taxied to the runway (I didn't expect to see FOUR AA aircraft parked at T4S, where were they going?)
It was an all-male crew, which I don't think I'd seen before. They served a hot breakfast in J after take off.
There wasn't a choice of food, you ate what you were given. In the photo above I'd already eaten the main - a plain omelette served with two cherry tomatoes. There was also fruit (nice) and a croissant (stale).
After the meal the crew made a pass through the J cabin offering water. Shortly after we were in Barcelona, after an approach that took us out to sea and along the coast.
Not being much of a chain hotel guy (I just think they're boring, even if that's a sacreligious thing to say round here) I stayed in a Pensión in the Gothic quarter.
Barcelona's a beautiful city, but incredibly busy. The city government is running a campaign, 'Compartim Barcelona' or 'Let's share Barcelona', aimed at promoting better relations between the city's residents and the horde of tourists that descends every summer.
As you might have read, though, there's been a lot of unrest over the impact tourism is having, not just in Barcelona but across Spain, on housing stock and rents. I lost count of the number of 'F*** TOURISTS' graffiti I saw.
But still, it's a fantastic place. Interesting if you're a political nerd like me too - there are plenty of banners hanging from apartment windows calling for Catalan independence.
Here's a printable piece of anti-tourist graffiti before we head on to the final instalment: The Journey Home (Unplanned)
Aug 17, 2017, 1:03 am
#7
Join Date: Apr 2014
Location: Aberdeen, Scotland
Programs: BA Bronze, Emirates Silver, Virgin Silver, Marriott Titanium
Posts: 1,403
Maybe its just me, but I can't see any photos in your reports.
Aug 20, 2017, 2:44 pm
#9
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Germany
Programs: Some
Posts: 11,522
Not sure. For me the current events have no affect for my decision. At the moment itīs nowhere "safe" in Europe, it can happen everywhere and anytime. Otherwise if you consider the number of tourists in Europe and even in the specific itīs very unlikely that it hits you. I stiull think itīs much more likely that someone bowls you from the Autobahn or hits you while you cross the street. Also Iīm no ready to let terrorists affect where and how I travel.