IB 6253
MAD-JFK
Depart: 455pm (schedule) 508pm (actual)
Arrive: 715pm (schedule) 643pm (actual)
Seat: 4H (aisle)
Cabin: Business Plus
Load: 24/24
Configuration: 2-2-2
Equipment: A340

At the door an FA greeted me and sent me down the aisle. I was at my seat in no time. It was less tired looking than I expected and a fat pillow and nice blanket were plastic wrapped and waiting on the seat. My first impression is that it appeared a lot more roomy than many of the same generation - and even new generation- business class cabins I have been in. There was an outlet under the arm rest, but at least on the ground it didn't work. An FA came around and closed most of the bins but not all. Fifteen minutes after boarding, came the first crew interaction. Shrink wrapped Headphones were distributed.

The seat was fairly comfortable and I turned the massage function on. I pulled out the TV to see what was on offer and the movie selection was comically bad. About 12 movies, more than half of which were 5 years old. TV and audio selection equally terrible. Amenity kits and newspapers came about 2 minutes after the headphones. Newspapers were distributed from a rolling rack. Headphones and amenity kits from a tray.

There was a cloth L'Occitane bag and a second bag matching the color scheme of the pillow. The main kit contained socks, eye shades, tooth brush, tooth paste, ear plugs and hair brush. The bag was nice but nothing special. Spanish magazines were offered following amenity kits. FAs came around with water and orange juice on a tray and a bottle of Cava to pour for those who wanted. I selected water and it was served with an unbranded napkin and a packaged refreshing towel. The water was very cold and refreshing. Service was perfectly friendly and seemingly no surly FAs on this flight either. Just after push back, FAs came to collect cups/wine glasses. The salty demonstration was done manually and played on the main screen in Spanish and English.

The take off roll was quick and we were soon in the air. I reclined the bed right after take off and it's just about 180 degrees flat. Given that I am 6' 3" and it was just a few inches too short I would peg it at about 6 feet long. The privacy divider between seats extended out an inch or two at best so I'm not even sure what the point is. Mysteriously, right after take off the movie selection changed to 12 relatively new releases. No idea how or why. The unseat power did not turn on though.

Forty minutes after take off, no service began, power was not turned on and really long welcome announcements were made in English and Spanish. An FA came around and said something to each passenger. I'm not sure what but since there were no menus i assume it was dinner orders. The pilot made a welcome announcement a few minutes later. Apparently the FAs weren't discussing dinner. An hot after take off, an FA came around holding a menu card and reading it to people. Oddly, after orders were taken menus were distributed. The wine list was the same as the one in the lounge.

My in seat power wasn't working 75 minutes after take off so I flagged an FA. She said the power should be working fine and indeed the status light was green. It seemed it was an issue with my seat or my charger. An FA also came around putting white tablecloths on each tray. Another FA came down the aisle offering hot towels on ceramic plates. They were collected immediately after. I also took my blanket off so good wouldn't drip on it and I instantly felt cooler. It was a warm blanket.
A drinks cart came out. I was offered nuts and Spanish olives. I noticed that before each FA would pour wine they would show the bottle to the passenger and ask for approval before pouring it. I asked for rum and was asked if I wanted it on ice. I agreed. She asked me if I wanted Coke and I asked for diet. She presented me with the bottle of rum and placed a cup of ice cubes and a lemon slice on my tray. She fills the cup with rum almost to the top and then opens a can of Diet Coke and pours a few drops in. A few minutes later, the nut and olive bowls were collected and drinks were refilled. I asked for sparkling water. The FA gave me a glass with a lemon, opened a bottle of sparkling water, filled it most of the way, closed the bottle and put it on my tray.

My KSML was served. There was a plate of deli meat with marinated vegetables which was good. There was this chocolate cake with cream and a fruit plate with peaches and grapefruit. Both were good. Finally, there were 2 packaged bread rolls. I asked for olive oil for the bread which they happily gave me. Appetizer trays were collected and the hot mains were brought out. The KSML hot main was chicken breast with mushrooms, carrots and rice. By airplane standards all the food was great.
Dinner trays were cleared promptly and a dessert cart with ice cream, sherry, and sweet white wine made rounds. Following dessert, coffee was offered from a cart and packaged squares of Lindt 70% dark chocolate were offered. I asked for iced coffee and the request was declined. It really amazes me how crew members refuse to make ice coffee. If you have ice and you have coffee you have ice coffee. I never understood why it's such a difficult request. Anyway, she gave me a cup of ice and she gave me a cup of coffee so I poured it in myself. After coffee cups were collected, water bottles were distributed. The FAs tried resetting my seat to get the power to work. The seat reset but the power did not come on. I napped for a bit and woke up to finish my movie. I watched The Grand Budapest Hotel next. FAs were totally absent from the cabin over the afternoon but there were crew members in the galley. Behind the last row of Business, before the bathrooms appeared to be a snack bar though was not set up during the flight.
About 2 hours out the main cabin lights went back on. Hot towels were offered a few minutes later and again immediately collected. White tablecloths were also laid out on each table. Carts rolled down offering the pre-arrival snack. I don't know what the standard offering was. The kosher offering was salmon sandwiches and a brownie. A drinks cart came after the snack cart and I had water and Diet Coke. Bread was also offered a second time. I don't eat fish so I don't know how the sandwich was but the brownie was great. The coffee cart was out next. I noticed that my power outlet went on and sure enough, it was working. We hit turbulence an hour out and the fasten seat belt sign was turned on.
The purser went around just under an hour out to say goodbye to customers and ask them about their experience. I have to say the level of service on Iberia has impressed me. Headphones were also collected. Jackets were also returned. Just before landing the cabin lights were turned off. Landing was smooth but once we parked we sat for a few minutes before anything happened and then we started moving at a crawl. FAs remained seated so I couldn't tell what might have been happening. We parked at the gate and the door between business and coach was used. FAs held back coach passengers until Business passengers were all off.
Passport control was quick, but bags were slow, taking almost 45 minutes. Luckily our priority bags were out quickly.