Hi everyone, welcome back to another review. Today we're flying aboard Iberia from Madrid over to Chicago in Business. If the tone of today's review feels slightly more bland or dull than usual, it's because I'm simply reflecting the overall mood of the flight. The entire experience just felt very 'average'. Nothing really stood out, if anything there were more lowlights than highlights. Perhaps not as terrible as some consider Iberia to be. Considering the only other option on this route is AA, which I reviewed on the reverse trip earlier on, not much differs in terms of experience. Both crews were just very eh, seemed robotic with their actions and couldn't seem to wait to sit back in the galley and chat. Anyways, let's see how Iberia does flying us to the US.
I headed over to Barajas airport around two hours before departure. Checkin for business was quick and I managed to grab a window seat, fortunately one closer to the window with enhanced privacy. I've never been a huge fan of flying out of MAD especially with all the chaos with customs (upon arrival) and long commute via the train to arrive at your gates.
With a business class ticket, I was offered fast track security and access to the Iberia lounge. The entire process with fast track (which had no line) and security took less than five minutes.
After taking the train over, we arrived at the satellite terminal where our flight would depart from. For those who aren't familiar with Iberia's lounge, like myself, it was a struggle for me to locate it with the lack of signage. I ended up at the priority lounge where I spotted a certain young soccer/football Youtuber (who goes and watches tons of games and receives quite a bit of flack, if you know you know) arguing with the receptionist for being denied access. That was interesting. I was informed that I was in the wrong place and needed to head down into duty free where the lounge was located.
While strange to be located within duty free, I must admit the glaringly red wall does create a sleek feel to the entrance.
I didn't take too many picture of the food on offer, mainly because they resembled my hotel breakfast for the past few days. Scrambled eggs, bacon, hashbrowns, sausages, bread, you get the idea. I did appreciate the fruit area especially these fresh;y cut pineapples, a highlight.
The large glass panes were great for planespotting, I caught an American 787 in the distance that arrived earlier from ORD, the same route I flew just a few days earlier.
I do regret not taking more pictures of the lounge seating. Despite not having the greatest variety of food on offer, the sleek red seats and ample space makes Iberia's lounge one of my favorite in terms of layout and furniture. The lounge never felt crowded despite having quite a lot of people evident by the long food queues.
After hanging out at the lounge for half an hour or so, I began my journey to the gate. US gates, like at most destinations, require an extra layer of screening. All the US-bound gates were located at the far end of the terminal and required you display your documents to an agent before being let through to the seating area. Luckily, we didn't need to undergo another round of security/bag checks.
This gave me an opportunity to do some planespotting. Given all were heading across to the US, this meant widebodies on display! Has anyone flown aboard this airline before?
Some other Iberia widebodies, with flights over to Miami and Los Angeles.
I couldn't quite get a full shot of my jet, but you can see it located on the left side here.
Boarding began on schedule, and I was on our way down the jetbridge.
Here's the first look at today's cabin. I've flown Iberia's widebody only once before on a short hop from Heathrow in economy. The seats are in a 1-2-1 configuration with aisle seats alternating between ones closer to the window and those closer to the aisle, and middle seats also alternating between honeymoon suites and ones further apart. I previously flew in Delta One in this same configuration and was given a window seat nearer to the aisle, I didn't really feel a significant difference in privacy when simply looking at the cabin but sitting in one nearer to the window today really accentuated just how much more private these felt.
Here is a look at the alternating middle seats. The honeymoon suites don't offer a significant barrier between the two, so it would really be an awkward trip if sitting next to a stranger.
Here's the first look at my seat for today, in 8L. Waiting at my seat was a pillow and duvet. No mattress pad or slippers were on offer. The IFE screen seems rather outdates and very small. In addition, I'm not a fan of how your footrest is literally within arms reach of the passenger in front of you, without any significant barrier. Twice during the flight something from my forward neighbour slid back through the gap on the very right and into my seat. I also feel if someone's having a smelly feet day, the unfortunate individual sitting ahead of you is going to have a hard time.
Given the old seat, your tray table is still sealed against the back of your neighbours seat as pictured on the left side.
Shortly after sitting down, welcome drinks were offered. I was given the choice of water, some sort of fruit juice, or sparkling wine. You all know which one I chose.
Here's a better angle of my seat. There were also headphones and an amenity kit in the storage space on the left. My headphones didn't end up working, but I had a book with me and the wifi worked well so I didn't end up caring as much. The amenity kit was also quite average, featuring basic items like an eyemask, earplugs, some skin product and a pair of EXTREMELY long socks.
Being in the last row and nearer to the window creates a caccoon-like feel that I'm being closed away from the alley, adding the privacy. But as you can probably tell, this came with the down side of losing a window. I guess losing a window means the clouds can't see me as easily? Maybe more privacy? :D
Menu cards were being passed around, with 3 choices for the main. Interestingly, around twenty minutes after handing them out, the crew came back around and informed us the wrong ones were provided. The correct menu cards were then distributed with different options. Considering Spain has some of my favorite food anywhere on the planet, the options seemed rather underwhelming. My apologies for not adding a picture of it as they were taken away from me nearly five minutes after being provided. They claimed we were in a rush to get going, perhaps we would've had some more time to browse the menu if the correct version was provided from the beginning :(.
Ironically, we were delayed for nearly 40 minutes, and took off at 12:02 with a scheduled departure of 11:35.
Shortly after takeoff, the crew got going and came with drink service and a choice between olives, chips, or cheese. I've always been a lover of cheese, and some of the best proudly originate out of Spain. This seemed extremely disappointing considering the plethora of options they must have had, I also received some small breadsticks, a coke zero, and a glass of whisky on the rocks.
I did inquire if I could receive a second plate of cheese, and it was later provided. The starter was probaby the highlight of the meal service, perhaps its my bias and love for grilled octopus. This was delicious. The sauce and small potatoes also hit the spot. My only nitpick would be… I would have loved more octopus! I'm unsure how they managed to make the bread simultaneously warm but also hard, not a great look flying out of Spain.
I loved this cute message left on our salt and pepper shakers, suggesting you bring them home (which I did, of course!). The red shaker ended up malfunctioning during the same week I brought it home, but any piece of airline merch is a plus in my books.
Then came the main course, which was a grilled chicken with mushroom sauce and gnocchi. I'd actually give this dish a 6/10, again it might be my mushroom sauce bias, but I rarely find fault with it. The broccolinis were also very flavorful being dipped with the sauce, and same could be said for the pasta. Unfortunately, the chicken was overcooked and rather rough, should've been the highlight of the dish but a rather let down. Again, fitting the generally 'dull' ish mood of this flight, the dish wasn't anything special.
Throughout the entire meal service, the crew just seemed very robotic. They did seem much livelier with Spanish speaking guests, but never came around to ask for refills, how the food was, for English speaking passengers. The most I ever interacted with one of the crew members was after the meal when my chair wouldn't recline. A few crew members came around and fixed my seat, then sort of just gestured to me like "here it is, fixed". Again not anything I really would complain too much about, but just rather robotic and emotionless.
After dinner, I went with the ice cream and a glass of dessert wine. I remember searching up the price of the wine just for fun, retailing for around 15-20 euros. Say what you want about American Airlines, their ice cream sundae easily trumps that of Iberia. I guess the little stick here wanted to convey elegance over substance, but I easily prefer AA slothering my ice cream with sauce and whipped cream.
I hung around and stayed awake for a while after eating, but I think the crew were just happy to have concluded service and could sit and chat in the galley. I ended up having another glass of whisky, and ended up sleeping the entirety of my flight after having my seat fixed.
We arrived in Chicago at 14:08, 7 minutes ahead of schedule meaning we made up around half an hour in the skies.
