Sao Paulo to Berlin: BA or Iberia?
#1
Original Poster


Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: MEL, land of Oz
Programs: QF Plat & LTG; A3*A Gold; Avianca LM; IHG Platinum, Accor All Gold
Posts: 433
Sao Paulo to Berlin: BA or Iberia?
Hello all,
I need to fly from GRU to Berlin in September and have a choice of flying BA (whose J class product I believe has deteriorated significantly in recent years) or Iberia.
Can anyone please provide a comparison regarding J class seat comfort (I am tall, so not a big fan of the otherwise revered but short BA J bed) and service?
Also, how about tranferring in Madrid? ~ once again, not a big fan of LHR...
Thanks in advance for any advice.
I need to fly from GRU to Berlin in September and have a choice of flying BA (whose J class product I believe has deteriorated significantly in recent years) or Iberia.
Can anyone please provide a comparison regarding J class seat comfort (I am tall, so not a big fan of the otherwise revered but short BA J bed) and service?
Also, how about tranferring in Madrid? ~ once again, not a big fan of LHR...
Thanks in advance for any advice.
#2




Join Date: Dec 2005
Programs: QF Gold, SQ, AA, HA
Posts: 126
I will not be visiting it for a couple more weeks, but it sounds like the new oneworld terminal at MAD will improve transfers significantly in terms of comfort and time spent on the ground; on their website IB quotes a minimum transfer time of 45 mins at MAD now (for oneworld connections).
#3
Join Date: Feb 2005
Posts: 163
Originally Posted by tallboy
Hello all,
I need to fly from GRU to Berlin in September and have a choice of flying BA (whose J class product I believe has deteriorated significantly in recent years) or Iberia.
Can anyone please provide a comparison regarding J class seat comfort (I am tall, so not a big fan of the otherwise revered but short BA J bed) and service?
Also, how about tranferring in Madrid? ~ once again, not a big fan of LHR...
Thanks in advance for any advice.
I need to fly from GRU to Berlin in September and have a choice of flying BA (whose J class product I believe has deteriorated significantly in recent years) or Iberia.
Can anyone please provide a comparison regarding J class seat comfort (I am tall, so not a big fan of the otherwise revered but short BA J bed) and service?
Also, how about tranferring in Madrid? ~ once again, not a big fan of LHR...
Thanks in advance for any advice.
This is just a personal opinion, but I think BA are much better than Iberia airlines in terms of comfort service and seats, as for the new facilities at Madrid , I can not comment as I have not been there yet , but I have heard good reports. Maybe you will get some more comments before you make your final decision . Happy flying ELO
Last edited by ELO; Feb 12, 2006 at 4:42 am Reason: wrong term
#5
Original Poster


Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: MEL, land of Oz
Programs: QF Plat & LTG; A3*A Gold; Avianca LM; IHG Platinum, Accor All Gold
Posts: 433
Originally Posted by DCAstudent
Last week Iberia lost the luggage of Spain's own Olympic team. Take that as a sign...
thanks for that but not sure if that distinguishes them from many other airlines. One of the reasons I prefer to avoid LHR is that luggage frequently fails to arrive at the same destination and time as the traveller following transfers there, and in my experience, BA are pretty slow to rectify and/or compensate.
#6
Original Poster


Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: MEL, land of Oz
Programs: QF Plat & LTG; A3*A Gold; Avianca LM; IHG Platinum, Accor All Gold
Posts: 433
Originally Posted by ELO
Hi
This is just a personal opinion, but I think BA are much better than Iberia airlines in terms of comfort service and seats, as for the new facilities at Madrid , I can not comment as I have not been there yet , but I have heard good reports. Maybe you will get some more comments before you make your final decision . Happy flying ELO
This is just a personal opinion, but I think BA are much better than Iberia airlines in terms of comfort service and seats, as for the new facilities at Madrid , I can not comment as I have not been there yet , but I have heard good reports. Maybe you will get some more comments before you make your final decision . Happy flying ELO
Thanks for your input ELO. Have you/anyone else experienced the new Iberia J class seat ~ I have seen it described as a "flat bed", which sounds promising...
#7
Join Date: Feb 2005
Posts: 163
Originally Posted by tallboy
Thanks for your input ELO. Have you/anyone else experienced the new Iberia J class seat ~ I have seen it described as a "flat bed", which sounds promising...
I have not experienced the new Iberia J class seat , however as a side issue ,it would be interesting to see if anyone has any positive things to say about Iberia. ELO
#8

Join Date: Apr 2000
Posts: 2,904
There is an extensive thread in the other European forums about IB and its new business plus service. Briefly, the seat is good, service in the air ok, and ground service terrible--especially during irregular operations. I have flown IB twice trans-atlantic and would only do so on the overnight flights where one can sleep most of the way.
#9
Join Date: Jan 2006
Posts: 1,296
Originally Posted by tallboy
thanks for that but not sure if that distinguishes them from many other airlines. One of the reasons I prefer to avoid LHR is that luggage frequently fails to arrive at the same destination and time as the traveller following transfers there, and in my experience, BA are pretty slow to rectify and/or compensate.
One sign is the number of high paying business fares from Madrid to Latin America via MIA on AA, despite the existence of numerous nonstop IB flights and the inconvenience non-Americans face by connecting at a US airport.
#10


Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: Austin
Posts: 4,635
Originally Posted by tallboy
thanks for that but not sure if that distinguishes them from many other airlines. One of the reasons I prefer to avoid LHR is that luggage frequently fails to arrive at the same destination and time as the traveller following transfers there, and in my experience, BA are pretty slow to rectify and/or compensate.
#11


Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: Austin
Posts: 4,635
Originally Posted by tallboy
I need to fly from GRU to Berlin in September and have a choice of flying BA (whose J class product I believe has deteriorated significantly in recent years) or Iberia.

