Since there have been several questions about Iberia over the several years that I have been on this board, I wanted to just give a bit of my experience for those considering the carrier. I took two flights, one from Cairo to Barcelona in Business and one from Madrid to Miami in (gasp!) coach.
The lounge in Cairo is nothing to write home about, but then again, my expectations were low so I was not disappointed. IB runs the European style "business class" seating on this flight. Especially considering it leaves at around Midnight, I have no clue what the advantage of Business over Coach would be except for lounge access. The check in lady in Cairo was nice enough under the circumstances of total chaos. Boarding was efficient, though the idea of forming a line is obviously foreign to many. The flight went well enough, no food service (nor did I want any) and the flight attendants did everything they could to leave the pax alone to sleep.
Because of things out of my control, I had to take a Spanair flight from Barcelona to Madrid, however, I was allowed access to Iberia's BCN lounge since I was departing from Madrid later in the day. The lounge is done in a red fabric and light wood motif. Simple, relaxing, nice. Wireless throughout the lounge, a *huge* plus, imo, and it worked the first time without even tweaking anything. They also have laptops secured to a few desks for those that dont have a computer. The whole thing is sponsored by Toshiba and was done very nicely. No food selection, drinks were the usual. Barcelona was a very nice airport and everything was easy to find. The only problem was that the post office never opened but I am not sure why.
The lounge in Madrid was similar to Barcelona except that there were showers, it was bigger, different colors, and a bit of a food selection. It also had the wireless access and it has a room with several sofa-ish critters so you can relax. After battling the hell that is Madrid-Barajas, I definately used the sofas to wind down after a very (very) long shower. If it was not evident, let me be more clear, Madrid airport is a very very bad place. There is only one airport I have been in that has been worse which is Miami Intl, which I had to deal with this morning. The groundstaff was combative and completely useless, there is no signage, and it is mass chaos and general unruliness. After BCN maybe my expectations were higher, but they were quickly lowered.
The flight to Miami was nice enough. I have forgotten how big a 747 is, but the seating was a 3-4-3 configuration. There was an empty space between me and my seat opponent (who was very nice) which made it a lot more comfortable. Dinner was some sort of pasta-ish thing with a salad, a roll, and a square of dessert. It wasn't breathtaking but it was like every other meal I have had in coach. It was washed down with a half a beer and an Ambien (better living through chemistry), and a few minutes later I was out like a light. Again, the FA's were remarkably good at not bothering pax....oh...let's say by chatting in the galley like at least one other Oneworld airline...and I was able to sleep pretty solidly until about an hour outside of Miami. Especially good since I was in a non-recline row. Lunch, which I dont think i ate, was tuna salad, a piece of turkey, and another square of a different colored dessert. Again, unremarkable.
Given its horrid reputation, I actually thought the flights were not bad. Certainly no Cathay, but I think that it was comparable to AA. The inflight magazine was touting a new full-flat business class seat so I dont know if they are going to do away with First, revamp it, or leave it as it is. I can't imagine them just leaving it be. I did see the biz menu and it looked comparable to AA and BA. The main failures were 1) Madrid Barajas and 2) the ground staff.
Sorry, I realize how poorly written this is after rereading it but I am tired and going to bed instead of fixing it.
