If you’re even a little familiar with premium cabins, you’ve probably heard that Spanish carrier Iberia’s business class is not exactly a high-end goal worth striving for. Spoiler alert: I can confirm can Iberia is a below average-to-average way to cross the Atlantic.
This review is based on a round-trip comprised of two flights, into and outbound from Iberia’s hub in Madrid. Most of the experience was, as expected, very similar; but the soft product did differ slightly and I’ll call that out as we dig into the details.
Booking Iberia Business Class
This trip came about on a bit of a whim when, during the pandemic, Iberia offered their annual half-price mileage award sale. The difference in this case was that they opened the sale up to Americans; in other years the sale is restricted to European members.
Iberia participates in the same Avios program as British Airways and Aer Lingus, and you can freely move points between each of your Avios accounts. You can also transfer points from a variety of sources including American Express Membership Rewards and Chase Ultimate Rewards, making Avios easy to earn.
Avios prices are set at the airline level which means that your Avios points in Iberia have different sweet spots than the same Avios when redeemed through BA. However, in all cases, prices are distance-based and priced per segment.
Even outside of sales, Iberia has a very competitive price of 42,500 Avios for most flights from the east coast and Midwest to Madrid. During the sale, all redemptions were 50% off. The only catch was that they had to be on Iberia planes; the sale did not extend to partner flights. 42,500 miles round-trip for business class is an excellent offer, even for a below average product (for context, AA and United each charge roughly 70,000 miles one way for business class to Europe. Delta prices can sometimes reach 100,000 miles one way.)
I changed the dates of my trip several times due to the pandemic, but ultimately ended up traveling in July 2021, as services were slowly reopening. In fact, Spanish tourism had reopened just three weeks before my trip and Iberia’s non-Schengen lounges in Madrid reopened just one week before I traveled.
At the Airport
My first Iberia flight departed from New York’s JFK Airport. Iberia uses Terminal 7 along with Oneworld partners British Airways and Alaska Airlines. Terminal 7 is no one’s favorite terminal at JFK; it’s old, dark, and poorly designed so it easily feels crowded and claustrophobic. On the evening on my flight, there were several large long-haul flights preparing to depart, but all lounges were still closed—including Alaska’s lounge focused on domestic fliers. As a matter of fact, most shops and restaurants were closed as well, resulting in long queues at the two or three places offering a bit to eat and a general sense of pandemonium in the areas of the terminal that were open.
Terminal 7 offers “Pre-Check Lite” whereby you get a sheet of paper from the ID checker that allows you to keep your shoes on but electronics and liquids need to be removed from your bag and you’ll go through the Nude-O-Scanner rather than the metal detector. The dragon checking boarding passes at the entrance of the security checkpoint refused to accept my electronic boarding pass and sent me back to the check-in counters to procure a paper one. She didn’t speak well enough English to communicate the reason for this. The check-in counters were packed and it took about 15 minutes to get checked in, even in the business class line.
Once I made it through security, I lapped the terminal several times while waiting for boarding. Boarding finally began nearly 45 minutes late, but the microphones didn’t work which meant that no one could understand who was being called to board and thus a crowd formed in the gate area. Eventually I made it aboard and the plane departed about a half hour late.
Importantly, my experience at Iberia’s home base in Madrid was much more positive. Queues for security and passport control moved quickly and courteously. Passengers were orderly at the gate.
Iberia Hard Product
JFK-MAD IB6250
Depart: 9:00 PM; Arrive: 10:20 AM +1
Duration: 7 hr 20 min
Aircraft: A330-300
Class: Business; Seat: 6A
July 2021
MAD-MIA IB6123
Depart: 4:00 PM; Arrive: 7:25 PM
Duration: 9 hr 25 min
Aircraft: A330-300
Class: Business; Seat: 2A
July 2021
Iberia’s business class product appeared at first glance to be distinctly average. The business class cabin consists of a staggered layout in a 1-2-1 configuration. The A330 is a somewhat narrow aircraft, and the aisles felt especially narrow and closed in. Due to the staggering, even-numbered seats are against the window while odd-numbered seats are against the aisle. The latter seats felt particularly un-private and exposed, so I highly recommend trying to snag an even-numbered seat. The center seats are also a great option if you’re traveling with someone, but there isn’t much privacy if you’re traveling alone.
When I got to my seat, a blanket and pillow were waiting. They were shrink-wrapped and including placards indicating that they were clean. The amenity kit was unexceptional and included the basics such as a toothbrush and toothpaste, socks, and mist. It also included an eye mask, but oddly it was sewn together. This wasn’t a one-off anomaly; the eye mask was presented this way on both of my Iberia flights. There were few other amenities offered, ostensibly due to the pandemic.
One thing worth being noted is the bathroom experience. Iberia blocked the front bathroom to be for crew only, meaning there was a single bathroom between business class and premium economy which served both of those cabins. I found there to be a lot of waiting for the bathroom, and it was also relatively trashed (particularly on the flight out of New York) very quickly. I find this to be a significant issue that I hope Iberia addresses quickly.
On a brighter note, Iberia’s in-flight entertainment was very good. It had a large selection of recent movies and TV shows and the controls worked reasonably well. The screen was high quality and the provided noise-cancelling headphones were decent if slightly uncomfortable by the end of my movie.
While the aisle was rather narrow and made the cabin feel tight, the counterpoint was that the seat felt plenty wide and offered a sort of cocoon as I began to curl up for sleep. I found the seat to be soft enough to sleep on my side without having my hip feel sore and I found the footwell mostly large enough but a bit narrower than ideal. This is typical of a staggered seat.
Iberia Soft Product
In terms of food, I was quite impressed. Iberia recently switched their catering to Do & Co, which is the same company used by Turkish Airlines for their highly regarded catering. I certainly wouldn’t put Iberia in the same tier as Turkish, but it was genuinely very good on both of my flights. The beet and beef salad was tangy and sweet, while the cheesecake was fluffy and flavorful.
Pre-plated meal in Iberia Business Class JFK-MAD A330. 
Pre-plated meal on Iberia Business Class MAD-MIA A330.
Unfortunately, I can’t share exactly what I ate beyond a couple of items that were very obvious. There was no menu aboard. On my flight from New York, when the flight attendants came by, they simply offered me “chicken, fish, or vegetable?” These were the only details given and the only options available. I chose the veggie option and I believe it was a sort of eggplant parmesan, but I can’t be sure. Notably, the FA was much more descriptive on my flight from Madrid, going into great detail about the meals and, at one point, asking a comrade how to describe a dish in English. (There was no written menu available on either flight, however.)
This difference in service was the biggest difference in general between these two Iberia flights. I wouldn’t say the service was fantastic or over the top out of Madrid, but it was average and friendly, whereas the service from New York was significantly below average and at times downright unpleasant.
This can be best illustrated in the area of beverage service. Out of New York, I requested both champagne and water with my meal. The flight attendant scoffed when I asked for two things. When I pressed the call button to request a refill of champagne after the service had concluded, she scoffed again and it took a very long time to actually receive a second glass. On the contrary, the flight attendants out of Madrid happily provided both beverages, and checked on me to refill them during the meal and after service. I didn’t need to use the FA call button on that flight at all.
While the food was very good, I will note that the champagne was among the worst I have ever tasted. I never saw the bottle so I can’t comment on the brand, but it was identical on both flights.
Meals were served with all courses condensed to a single tray. I found this to be a benefit on the short overnight flight from New York because it meant I could use more time to get some rest before landing. It was less beneficial on the daytime 9 hour flight from Madrid, but in both cases meant that meal service was finished just over an hour after takeoff, which is excellent.
I slept through a second breakfast service on the overnight flight from New York, but was awake for the second service prior to landing in Miami. They served a largely forgettable wrap.
Conclusion
Iberia’s business class was approximately as expected. The service was a bit better when departing Madrid compared to New York, but in both cases the seat and experience were largely just below average. But, when considering the price paid for this ticket, the value proposition is excellent as it was still a very comfortable way to cross the Atlantic.
