Introduction
¡Hola amigos!
Welcome to this FR on Iberia's A350, premium economy between Bogotá and Madrid.
Previous flights on this series are available here:
Enchainement de vols
- 1
- 2
- 3
I had originally booked to fly a return trip on AF, but because my residence permit was not ready in time I could only enter the Schengen area directly through Spain… and so I was down to AV, IB, UX or PU.
I refuse to fly AV and PU, and so I was down to UX or PU. UX doesn't offer W, while their Y fare was almost the same as IB. So, no brainer, IB it was.
At Bogotá Eldorado
Upon reaching BOG, IB's check in desks were quite crowded. But since we were flying W, and I had IB Gold status, I could make use of the Business lanes. Check in took less than 15 minutes.
We crossed emigration and security controls in no time, we were airside less than 45 minutes since our ride left us on the curbside.
We waited to board at the El Dorado lounge. We had some Bogotá Beer Company beers. Since we would be dining on the plane, there was no point in having a bite at the lounge.
Boarding the A350
Boarding time came, and because of my status I was Group 1. While the boarding for the rest looked messy (it's almost always like this in Colombia) I managed to skip the mess.
IB had not received their "new" A350s, so we were to ride on the "old" seats…which by then already felt and looked as if they had taken an important amount of beating.
The seat itself is spacious and quite confortable for the ride across the Atlantic. Nice plush pillows, and warm and soft blankets were waiting for us. IB also provides us with "better" headphones, which are not amazing, but they do the job.
The QR on the pillow+blanket combo invited us to check our menu. So let's see what was being offered tonight
AV's hub in action…one of those 787s was probably going to Madrid too
The PTV size is adequate and IFE contents too.
The headphones
We were handed PDBs (water or OJ, probably some Cava but I'm not sure) and our amenity kits
Boarding completed, door cross check….we are good to go!
Enroute to Madrid
Flight data wasn't still updated on the IFE, but our flight was likely
Cabin lights dimmed
We took off from RWY 14L and turned right towards the north. A night tour of Bogotá as we pass over the city. I cannot help having memories of all the spots we fly over…
As we left the city behind, it would be the perfect time to lounge and relax, probably get some sleep…but IB provides A LOT of announcements, the Purser introduces themselves and the rest of the crew, they give some general info on service, both in Spanish and English. Then the captain gives flight info. All of this takes quite a while, which feels longer when you want to rest, or watch the IFE.
As I expected our meals to start watching something, I spent time checking the moving map…as you see, it's a fairly short cross over the Atlantic.
Maybe a relaxing podcast?
Went for something else…
By then we got our meals served. I went for the chicken, the mrs. for the pasta. She's not a fan. I thought they were good, even if not amazing.
By the time we got our plates picked up, we were leaving America behind.
The cabin is set to total darkness…and the crew makes itself scarce for the rest of the ride. Beware that since the W cabin is just behind one of the galleys, it can get quite noisy as the crew stays there chatting and tossing stuff around. Mrs Chibcha thinks this is one of the biggest downsides of W.
At some point I carried out some attempts at long exposure photos, not perfect.
After my short snooze….we were handed our pre arrival meal. A sandwich and a muffin. Meh.
Soon we were over Portugal, and our hop was coming to an end. The guys up front greet us and tell us how much time is left and so on…
Another smooth landing…I'm always amazed by how IB's pilots manage to these behemoths land so smoothly.
