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.

Yikes! "European" biz seats out of CAI! We signed up for that to save our alloted long-hauls out of LON for DXB. All the way to MAD is a long trip, at midnight or 1 AM, stuck in what is pretty much a coach seat. Oh, well.

It is not "pretty much" a coach seat, it is a coach seat. It's the standard 2-3 configuration so I suppose more accurately half are coach seats. The other half are coach seats with a bit more elbow room. I think you might also get a couple more inches of legroom than in coach. Someone wanted to switch with me to put me into the center of the 3 side and for the first time ever I refused. They worked it out somehow but I am not a little man and I do not want to be wedged between people if I dont have to be. One additional point. I got off in Barcelona anyway so this didnt affect me but you will need to offload in BCN, go through customs, and reload onto the airplane to continue to Madrid. Plan accordingly since you need to take all your carry-ons with you.

For what it's worth, I'll offer my experiences as well....
In Aug. 2003, I flew in business class on an early-morning Iberia domestic flight from Oviedo/Asturias (OVD) to MAD. Given the sour reviews of Iberia that I had read, I wasn't particularly optimistic, but I was pleasantly surprised.

The IB ground staff I encountered were not conspicuously friendly, but they were pleasant enough, and were far more pleasant than the Spanair staff I dealt with on other legs of my trip. My AA Platinum status wasn't outwardly recognized as such, but "Sapphire" was printed on my boarding pass in several locations, so it clearly meant something (although what exactly, I don't know), which was nice.

The aircraft itself was a non-descript MD-87, and the C-class seats looked like AA's old coach seats, down to the fabric (blue and tan). Onboard, though, I was served the best breakfast I have ever had on a plane (except perhaps for a souffle on UA in coach, of all places) -- and this was only a 50 min. flight. The flight attendants were quite pleasant, and one female FA had the most captivating smile I have ever seen, which was a nice touch at 7am!

All in all, given the limited heights that European business class tends to reach, I was pleasantly surprised by Iberia - they really were not as bad as some have said - and although some will surely disagree, I found them to be much, much better than Spanair (e.g. the meal service on IB did not include pieces of whitish meat containing disconcerting black portions).

Darren!!! You are back in town. YGVM (Youv'e got voice mail). I think you check FT more than your VM so I am posting here totally out of context.

Welcome home!

I've experienced that all too often on BA, but happily on hour-long flights at decent hours. When my fellow travelers find out what I've done to them, I'm dead meat. And since you were mentioning seat-shuffling, I suppose that meant the flight wasn't exactly wide open. Maybe Egyptair will join OW in the next couple of months and they'll let me use them.

I was on this flight, IB6977, in February. There was a snack service shortly after departure from CAI, which was OK, despite the fact that I can't seem to remember what it actually was! Upon arrival at BCN, the MAD bound passengers deplane (with carry-on's) but stay airside in Terminal B. The IB lounge wasn't open yet (5am), however it only took 30 minutes to re-board the same aircraft (with a different crew). Upon arrival in MAD, the IB/OW lounge in Terminal 1 near gate 27 was open and it is an oasis of calm compared to the rest of the airport. Unfortunately, it is accessible only for international (non-Schengen) flights.

However, I am anxiously waiting to see when/where the new IB flat seat biz product will be available before flying them long-haul again. I will continue to fly IB only for a limited number of domestic and European sectors.

Darren, a little off topic, but when you take Ambien on an overnight flight, is it hard to wake up when it's time to? I realize everyone's chemistry is different, but in general, is this the way to go for those who don't mind taking drugs?

I dont know what to tell you. That is between you and your doctor and I dont feel comfortable opining whether it's "the way to go". It works like a dream (no pun intended) for me and I haven't had a problem with waking back up. I have a friend, however, that cannot take it becaue it makes him ill.

I like the subscribe thread option in the new FT. Had completely forgotten I posted anything on this thread and now I know why - nothing of importance.

Anyway back on topic. Nanook I have taken Ambien and other sleeping pills. Ambien is a lot shorter duration than most sleeping pills. I think it is three or four hours. I don't have any problem waking up after Ambien. But at the same time it does not knock me out. I usually need to drink some alcohol at the same time.

That is my non-medical advice.

There is a pink one and a white one. The pink (5mg) should last about 4 hours while the white (10mg) should last about 8. Nanook, as you said though, each affects people differently. They are not designed to knock you out, they are designed to allow your normal sleep pattern to commence. A small amount of alcohol just makes this more intense.

As an aside, though, I love one of the side effect warnings that accompany it. The product may cause drowsiness if taken.

I personally have found Temazepam the best in getting me to sleep for around 6-7 hours, allowing me to wake up without any drowsiness whatsoever, and yes accompanying alcohol does expedite and intensify the whole experience !

Darren we are hijacking your Iberia thread!

My doctor prescribed me Temazepam in the past and I have the darnest time waking up from that stuff. I feel �hung over� for hours afterwards. That is why I asked my doctor for Ambien.

I tend to like Ativan (Lorazepam) the best out of the benzos - it has a shorter half life and doesn't give you the hangover like Valium or some of the other benzos. But talk to your doctor first

On topic, I flew Iberia once, MAD-IBZ-BCN, and while these were short flights, I coudn't figure out why they don't let you use any electronics on board. This is just stupid (along the lines of Aer Lingus).

They must have changed the policies then because on both flights I used my laptop with no problems from the attendants and there were people around me with CD and MP3 players. Either that or it's not enforced anymore.