Iberia » Business (short haul) » User reviews

Corporate-gal flew Iberia Business (short haul), on a A320 (07/01/2009 15:48)

Flew LHR-MAD-SJO and return over the Christmas period.

Lounges: Terminal 2 lounge is appalling; scruffy seats, run-down and tired. However, with this terminal closing soon, I can't blame them for not updating it in line with their Madrid lounges! Madrid lounge at Terminal 4 is superb and offers an excellent range of facilities. This is one area that Iberia have got right.

Boarding: An absolute shambles at both Heathrow and Madrid. No priority for Business passengers. Beware though....no boarding announcements are made in either the Heathrow or Madrid lounges, so keep an eye on the boards otherwise you'll miss your flight!

Punctuality: 1 hour delay leaving Heathrow and 1:30 hour delay from Madrid.

Seat: The cabin on the A320/A321 is configured 3-3 and on all flights, the middle seat is kept free, offering you more room. Shame they don't do what BA do on those seats, and widen the seat a little to give you more width as well as more legroom. Nothing clever offered on these seats, but comfortable for the short 2hr flight.

Service: Despite having read some very negative reviews of Iberia's Business service, both legs were exceptionally well run. Menus and newspapers were offered before take off. Once airborne the pre-dinner drinks were offered quickly, followed by the meal service. On both legs, staff were friendly, helpful and professional. The food was tasty, hot and all options on the menu were available.

Baggage: Better baggage service going out to San Jose than coming back to Heathrow. We were expecting to lose our bags through Madrid from Heathrow, but they arrived out first, marked 'Priority' at San Jose with no problem at all. Coming back home was a different story, although IO know we were not as bad off as some others! Due to the strikes in Madrid (which no-one in the UK seemed to have heard about) all Iberia flights were delayed in and out of the UK. When we arrived at Terminal 2 baggage area, it was in chaos - bags were littering the outside of the baggage area (all with Iberia tags) from previous flights. Four Iberia flights had arrived within an hour (3 from Madrid and one from Barcelona) and after an hour of waiting, all four flights' baggage came out at once. Thankfully ours came through unscathed and off the right flight, but we know of others whose baggage did not come through, because of the delays at Madrid.

Overall: Better than expected considering some negative reviews. The service was lacking in some areas and is certainly not up to the standards of BA Club Europe. However, they are offering a good European Business class service.