Review of Air Europa flight from Madrid to Amsterdam in Business

transfer in madrid

I exit Iberia's Terminal 4 and follow the signs for the bus transfer to Terminals 1, 2, and 3. The shuttle bus runs every ten to fifteen minutes and takes fifteen minutes to make the journey to the old terminal complex.

check-in

Air Europa checks in at Terminal 2. There is a dedicated check-in area for SkyTeam and Business Class passengers with two counters, right next to the entrance to the priority lane for security.

Security is very quiet and doesn't take very long. The staff are bored, I think, because they're being very friendly and chatty. From security I make the long treck all the way to the Air Europa lounge at the far end of Terminal 2.

Air Europa lounge madrid

The Air Europa lounge in Madrid is small but nice. The buffet has a nice selection of food and drinks. More importantly, the lounge has excellent views of the ramp and the traffic movement. It's fairly busy when I arrive, which is why I don't really get the chance to take that many photos of the lounge. But I am lucky enough to find a seat by the window.

Just after 13h, the aircraft for my flight to Amsterdam pulls onto its stand right in front of my nose. It has just arrived from Milan.

Boarding

Boarding is a surprisingly orderly process. There are separate queues for each boarding zone. 

the cabin

The cabin is in the typical Euro-configuration that the Americans dislike so much. It's your standard Economy Class seat row but with the middle seat kept empty. Although I suspect the seat pitch up front may be slight better than it is in the back.

The cabin looks nice and tidy and the seats are comfortable enough. 

On today's flight there are four rows of Business Class and the cabin is nearly completely full.

service

The crew are nice enough, although I think they're more professional than genuinely warm. While we wait for boarding to end, they pass through the cabin with still water and juice.

Once we're airborne, the crew hand out vouchers for complimentary wifi access, which angers the guy sitting on the aisle, who apparently had just paid for it…

The meal - late lunch

I like the way Air Europa presents the food on its short haul flights. 

There is a small card with the menu.

It's a fairly simple and small meal, but for a flight of under three hours I think it's totally okay.

Arrival in Amsterdam

The time passes quickly. Quite surprisingly, the weather in Amsterdam is slight better than in Madrid.

We land on the famous Polderban out in the boonies and then taxi for another fifteen minutes before we finally arrive on our stand at the C pier.

Currently, there's are maintenance works going on at the railway station of Amsterdam airport. As a result, if you're using public transport, the recommended journey is to Amsterdam Zuid by train and then onward by metro to the city. The process is very well organized and properly signposted.