Juliusgg

Many times on this route MAD-MEX-MAD, here are some tips.

Try to book a "good" seat, row 6 on A343 or row 2 DH on 346, these are almost horizontal.

Lounge dinner is just "normal" in comparison with my experience in BA Galleries lounges, I use to take on board dinner as well, normally soup salad and pasta, a couple of Gin's and 10h sleeping.Passport control at MEX could be horrible...not many agents some times, and aircraft always use a remote position which means take a crowd people mover to the terminal.

On return IB offers MX lounge, they have some snacks, and the only Gym I've seen in an airport lounge, never tried it. There is also an AA Admirals Club.
On board service will be full dinner and breakfast, plane use to arrive 1h ahead from scheduled when departing on time

anandrag

I flew MAD - GRU about 2 months ago in J and was quite underwhelmed. Being used to the J (and F) products on BA, VS and 9W, I found service to be super surly, food below average and seats too slanty. The MAD lounge is nice and spacious and idea of the restaurant in back is a good one. Once again wasn't too impressed by food offered.
Also flew AY in J on HEL - MXP sector on same trip. Flight is about 2/3 length of HEL - MAD (~1200 vs 1800 miles) but assume seats and service the same. They had the usual European carrier intra-Europe J set up where seats aren't much bigger than in back but they block middle seat. I slept most of way as I had just come in on DEL - HEL flight. What I remember wasn't too memorable though...

JohnFortWorth

I flew Finnair Business Class HEL-BCN in August. They offered 3x3 seating with the center seat vacant and standard intra-European catering. Nothing special, though there was unintended live entertainment. There were only two of us up front and two lavs. Every time a bold coach passenger would try to venture beyond the curtain to use a forward lav, the flight attendant would pounce like a bear guarding her cubs. If someone slipped past when she had her back turned, the flight attendant would wait outside the lav until the passenger emerged, giving them a running lecture as she escorted them back to their seat in economy. The interlopers seemed to take it all in stride, however.

Don't set your expectations too high on the Iberia transatlantic flight. Madrid airport is brilliant, as is the Iberia lounge. Inflight service, however, is not as good as AY or AA (and certainly not BA), IMHO. Out of Madrid, expect more creative and interesting menus than you will see on their flights originating in the US. I like the amenity kit Iberia hands out in Business Plus. I also like the Spanish brandies they serve after dinner. If you're tall, bring along a sweater or something soft you can put on top of the metal footrest that will press against your legs all night. Unless its a light flight and you can snag an extra from a vacant seat, you'll only get one blanket and one pillow.

OPebble

[QUOTE=brettyokom;7592221]T4 is the main IB and OW terminal in Madrid. There is also a T4S (Satellite) which is connected to T4 by underground automatic train. Both terminals are huge and brand new. They are fantastic to look at but the distances are quite long. There are exceptions, but generally flights to destinations outside Western Europe use T4S and destinations in Spain and W. Europe use T4. All oneworld flights use either T4 or T4S. Soon they will open the T4 Metro station with service to Central Madrid.

Actually T4S (Satellite) is used for non-Schengen Countries in Europe and Rest of World. So for example British Airways uses T4S.

IMHO the T4S lounge is miles better as there are fewer PAX. The T4 lounge is very busy and not at all restful.

justinb

What about codesharing between AA and IB? Last summer, IB refused to rebook me on an AA flight back to DFW. They claimed that it was against their policy (even tho I was in J). I know AA's J is nicer than IB's, but after a cancellation, shouldn't IB make an equal effort to put me on a 1 stop flight back to DFW no matter which airline I fly TATL?

My friend had a similar experience once on Delta and they had no problem re-booking him on AF. Is AA-IB 'less aligned' than AF-DL?

alanw

They aren't obligated to put you on a different carrier if you have a ticket for an IB flight. Neither is any other carrier. Codesharing has nothing to do with it. There are dozens of other variables that can affect how you get re-routed or re-accomodated.

As far as your knowledge that AA's J is nicer than IB's, I know a lot of people would disagree with you.

justinb

Oops, meant to say that AA's F is a lot nicer than Iberia's J.

But would you say that IB and AA are less connected within oneworld than DL-AF within Skyteam? My IB-AA messed up connections seem to be harder for CSR's to fix than my AF-DL ones. Any thoughts?

trueflight7

First time flying Iberia Business and have a couple questions:

Is there preflight dining on VLC-MAD IB0335 (21:50)? Any food on the plane?
How about breakfast ahead of my morning flight to LHR from Madrid Terminal 4? Any food on the plane (IB3174)

Lastly which lounges should I use in VLC and MAD? And where are they located?

Also how can I figure out which terminals I fly from/to?

alanw

There's no pre-flight dining in VLC, unless you find a cafe in the airport. You'll get a snack on the plane as it's a very short flight. Probably a small sandwich and a chocolate. MAD-LHR will have breakfast (Spanish breakfast, not bacon and eggs). Sorry don't know anything about terminals in VLC, though IB use T3 at LHR.

malcolmkettering

Wow, a question about my home airport VLC! Your choice of lounges at VLC is easy because there is only one for oneworld. It is a standard Iberia SALA VIP airside in front of Gate C3. It is a very small airport, which I love. At the hour of your flight, you're likely to be the only one in there; there are light snacks and packaged snacks and a good variety of drinks, coffee, etc. I've only been there in the AM but I presume the mix of food and beverage is pretty much the same. If you don't find everything you want there, just outside of the lounge is the main airport café.

In case you didn't know, the Metro now runs from all points in the city directly to the airport departure terminal. Line 3 and Line 5 make the trip.

The next morning at MAD, IB flights to the UK depart from the H gate area of Terminal 4. There is one Iberia SALA VIP ("Sala Dalí") there -second level, mid-terminal - and they will have light snacks and all sorts of beverages, etc there. Also showers, etc.

trueflight7

Thanks guys!
Hmm so I guess the question now is... what's a Spanish breakfast like?
I'm connecting in LHR and have access to Concorde Room and Galleries First, anyone know how the breakfast offering might compare?

alanw

A croissant, maybe some cured meats and cheeses, probably yogurt, some fresh fruit.

The _Banking_Scot

Hi,

I have just arrived off IB 3174 ( 0955 MAD-LHR) and in GF.

The breakfast was very good with;

Cheese omellete with a couple of pieces of ham
Number of pieces of fruit
Croissant
Two pieces of harder bread
Second helping of bread rolls
Yoghurt type drink
OJ
Coffee.

Quite filling and good service.

Middle seat free and armrests come up ( I was in A and no one was in C so the row was mine)

Regards

TBS

mangoMan

Here's another one
I will be traveling with my wife and 2 kids out of VLC in July on a Friday morning (8:45 am). Is the Metro advisable to get to the airport? We'll have all our luggage to deal with, so a cab might be better. However, I'm concerned a cab could get stuck in rush hour traffic. Any thoughts?

BTW, we'll also be in IB J class, so thanks for the lounge info!

malcolmkettering

Metro, definitely. Many stations in the city center have elevators all the way down so really not much trouble with luggage. Alameda, Aragón, Colón, Xátiva and Angel Guimerá all have elevators, in addition to others. From which station will you originate?

Just make sure you buy ticket for zones A-B, not just the regular A tickets for the city itself. A single A-B ride is €1,90 and a 10-pack is €9.30. So if you and your family are going to use the metro even just one other time, it is worth it to buy the 10-pack.

For the 8:45 flight to Madrid, which I've taken many times since it connects to AA69 and IB6275 to the States, you need to be entering a city center Metro station by about 7:00 or so. The trip is 23 mins. and there are trains every 8-10 mins. Line 3 and Line 5 both work. Just don't take a Line 5 'con destino Torrent'; make sure the 'destino' is 'Aeroport'. It might be a bit crowded for the first few stops, but the cars thin out quickly as you leave the city center.

There are two security entrances after check-in; seems like one is always crowded and the other empty, so be sure to check them both out before committing. One will be to the right of Iberia/AirNostrum check-in and the other on the left back into the old terminal building. The one down on the left is technically closer to your departure gate and lounge but as I said, it is a small space overall. If you have kids, they'll enjoy the huge model aircraft hanging from the ceiling of the new terminal section; for this you'll want to use the right-side security checkpoint.

Enjoy IB J!