Since there seems to be some confusion about Iberia’s paid upgrades policies – and perhaps even some inconsistencies on the airline’s part – I thought I would pitch in with my recent experience.

Bought r/t MAD – ORD – MAD in turista, fare class S. Did not receive an email inviting me to bid or pay a flat fee for an upgrade.

At MAD, went to the customer service counter and asked if upgrades were for sale. Agent looked at my ticket, checked her system, and said “yes,” but she couldn’t tell me the price. She said check in to tourist first, then go to the business class counter to ask about upgrading. I skipped the tourist line and went directly to biz class counter and was quoted 325 euros to Business Class, 145 euros to premium economy. As we waited for my payment to go through I chatted with the agent, and learned (or at least had her take on) the following:

The IB marketing department decides who gets the e-mail offer to upgrade. She was not sure if this was random or directed at certain passengers or a certain profile. For those of you who have not received them, these emails normally ask 450 – 500 euros to upgrade on a long-haul flight.

The price at the airport is based on capacity, she said. I paid 325 euros, but on the return the price was 450 euros

The flight itself was a bit of a disappointment compared to other IB Biz Class flights I have taken. No one offered to hang up my blazer before takeoff or even when it sat on my lap for the first hour of the flight. Did get pre-flight drink but only one pass with the drinks cart for wine with lunch. Had to ask for a second glass of wine from the galley. Of course, crew disappears for most of the flight, but that is standard on IB and on many other airlines. If you need something, you have to track them down.

Altogether, not bad value, I think. Original ticket was +/- 800 euros r/t, so 400 + 345 = 745 o/w in business.