Iberia

The flight pricing was reasonable. The service, awful. I was disappointed at every turn. Our first flight was overbooked and we had to use a different airline altogether. Once we arrived the in Madrid, they booked myself, my wife, and two children seats at different areas of the cabin. That means that my 4 year old and 7 year old were going to sit alone. When I respectfully requested different seat assignments, everyone was unhelpful and rude. I have never seen such awful customer service at an airline. I wouldn't recommend this airline.

After many years flying CE with BA, and avoiding Iberia due to bad experiences, we finally made the change and booked Iberia Business and then our usual Iberia Regional (Air Nostrum) business flight, what a difference. Good legroom, polite and efficient service and proper meals served (travelling at a time that BA would only serve their excuse for an 'afternoon tea'). It was a pleasure to fly with an airline which provided business class service for the business class fare.

FRA-MAD-BOG. All flights on time. Check-In slow. took me 35 min. for luggage drop off (did online Check-In). No free drinks or snacks from FRA to MAD. Food from MAD to BOG average. No service between the meals. Crew were just hanging around at the galerie. UIO-MAD-FRA. All flights on time. Very old plane from UIO to MAD. No personal TV. Very old, worn seats. Food ok. No service between the meals. Crew disappeared. Again no free food and drinks on Europe flights. not even free water. checked bag did not arrived. got them one day later.If you like to chose a seat you have to pay around 50 USD each way.

The Velazquez lounge at terminal 4S offers a great deal of amenities and perks. Food is great, views of the terminal are excellent, there are showers, resting areas, TV watching areas, and a couple of beverage stands at both ends of the lounge. Boarding was conducted in a very organized form using two bridges: one for Business Plus and one for the main cabin, and allowing families with children and elderly to board first which is always a great gesture. Cabin was clean, and flight attendants welcomed passengers in a friendly way. The new seat is superb: private, comfortable and lies almost flat allowing for a reasonable sleep. Entertainment system also had a great selection of movies, games, and TV shows. Food selections were good quality, although portions were a bit small. Flight attendants were able to suggest wine and were quite generous about serving it. Once service concluded, a self service bar was set up in front. One thing I liked about Iberia is that flight attendants are not intrusive, which can be confused with uninterested. This is probably a cultural misunderstanding, because while other carriers have an almost prying and intrusive service, in Spain, it is considered respectful to let people reach out if they need something. All in all an enjoyable experience.

This ridiculous idea of cramming log haul flights with seats that have cushions that are about a hair thick and crammed about 10 cm from one another to save money meant that I arrived on the MAD to ORD leg of the flight hardly standing up and with terrible neck and back pain. Food was so so, less than expected on long haul flights. I can't say that the flight attendants were rude, they were just not present!

Having heard lots of horror stories about Iberia long-haul, I was eager to try them given that the reviews did not match the quite satisfying experiences I have had with them on a couple of intra-european flights I have taken with them, and I was pleasantly surprised. It is important to understand that Spaniards talk loud and do not like to beat around the bush, therefore, it sometimes appears like they might be angry or aggressive, while deep down they are more than willing to help! Boarding was carried out in a very organized way. Standing at the door, were a couple of flight attendants welcoming passengers politely. Other members of the crew were helping passengers find their seats and stow their bags. Once airborne, kids received entertainment kits, and passengers got earphones if needed. IFE had a wide range of choices from movies to games and IB information, WiFi and GSM were available, but I did not try it. Meals consisted on pasta or beef, but flight attendants came around a couple of times in case anyone cared for more bread. Coffee or tea was offered. I asked the flight attendant if I could have another glass of water, he mentioned he was busy, but that once he was done, he would bring it to me. I did not wait for more than 2 minutes, he came back with an unexpected glass of water for me in the middle of his tasks! Another flight attendant was equally enthusiastic and happy to help. Overall, service was carried out in a professional and genuine way: no patronizing and no fake smiles. Really looking forward to my return trip on the A340-600!

We flew to Madrid for a long weekend and got a good price for business class, so treated ourselves. The London-Madrid flight was only half full in business class, however the purser and steward serving us seemed rushed and very disinterested - no smiles or pleasantries! Lunch was ok and nice sparkling wine. On the return, we got a long haul A340 that was really tired and not very clean. There was a full business class this time and the service provided by the 3 stewardesses was again mediocre! 2 Iberia crews we encountered just seem unhappy and not willing to interact with customers.

Booking was easy. Paid 162€ for BCN-MAD return. Booked Classica fare which include 23kg hold luggage and seat selection. Both flights departure time changed to 1h later but informed on time and accepted changes. Online check-in done using Iberia's mobile app, luggage drop-off was friendly and fast. Welcomed on board by well presented crew, cabin on both flights clean and in good condition. Seat pitch as expected, tad larger than Vueling but enough that my knees do not touch seat in front like on Vueling flights. FA's smiling and professional, assisting with luggage. Arrivals on time or a bit earlier. Did not buy anything from BOB but prices were comparable with other cariers with similar business model. Very nice inflight magazine. Luggage delivered in average times for both airports, BCN always longer. First time with Iberia and a very positive experience.

The online service to prepay for bags doesn't work. The have no customer service in Marrakesh. Onboard they don't even offer a cup of water, you have to buy a bottle of water for 3 Euros.

Both flights on time, friendly staff, newish interiors. The opened the gate very early from Madrid and I sat in the bus for 20 minutes. The aircraft was parked next to an air bridge that wasn't attached to it. The buy-on-board food didn't really seem to excite anyone (LCCs seem to have better sales). I was in row 6 on the way out and it was fine (I think they can move the curtain to make this a business class seat) but on the second leg in row 10, I didn't have enough space to put my laptop out in a way that I could type on it. This means that paying a little extra would be worth it to get those extra couple of hours of work in. Also, Orly is quite a miserable airport (they don't fly from Paris CDG) but Madrid T4 is nice and modern.