IBERIA even
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Since merging with British Airways in 2010, the combined BA-Iberia venture, has been one of the world's largest airlines.
While BA has always been seen as a top class airline, known for service and elegance, Iberia has been somewhat of a black sheep in the OneWorld alliance.
Most travelers panned the seats, the food and the service. While that may have been the old Iberia, it is now an airline on the rise.
The Lounge — 3 1/2 Slants
While you are unlikely to confuse Iberia's flagship lounge at Madrid's Adolfo Suaréz airport for a Lufthansa or Thai first class lounge, it is an above average offering. The lounge is spacious, has ample seating, fast wifi, and a variety of hot and cold food offerings, as well a well stocked bar. The lounge is modern, clean and offers views over the field. In terms of European airline lounges, Iberia's business lounge at Madrid probably falls somewhere ahead of KLM's Amsterdam lounge and just a bit behind Turkish Airlines' massive lounge in Istanbul.
The Seat — 5 Slants
The old Iberia business class seat, which is still flying on a small number of their Airbus A340's was arrayed in a 2-2-2 configuration, and offered only 170 degrees of recline, the dreaded "slippery slope" seat.
Starting with the introduction of A330's to the fleet, Iberia began overhauling their A340-600's and the newly refurbished aircraft are listed in the system under the "A345" designation. The new seats are in a 1-2-1 configuration, so that all the window seats a singles. All the new business class seats offer 180 degrees of recline.
The seat was a huge surprise, as I found it to be one of the most comfortable business class seats I have ever traveled in. The inflight entertainment (IFE) screen is large, and there are a good number of movies and TV shows to choose from. My only minor quibble, is that the controller for the IFE is a bit clunky.
The Food — 4 Slants
Another surprise from Iberia. Old reviews of Iberia business class lament the terrible service and atrocious food and beverage offerings. While the service was a bit lazy, the food was much better than expected. Everything was a cut above what one would expect when flying business class internationally on a U.S. flag carrier.
Overall Experience — 4 Slants
I expected a 10+ hour flight in Iberia business to be a means to an end, instead, it ended up being a pleasure. The seat was very comfortable both in the lounge and bed positions. The pillow and blanket were significantly nicer than what most other airlines offer in business class, the food was good and there were enough options in the IFE system for me to somehow watch four movies during the course of the flight from Madrid to Bogota.
Iberia's business class is better than anything currently being offered by U.S. flag carriers, and for travel between the U.S. and Europe, I would choose them again over British Airways and probably over any other business class product, save for Swiss International Air Lines. Recommended, and would (will) fly again.