#49 out of 94 Airlines A minimum of 10 flight-reports within the past two years is required to appear in the rankings.
349 reviews
For years Iberia and British Airways have been operating the Madrid to London (LHR) flights using widebody aircraft. Although British Airways has stopped using 777s, 787s and 380s on this high-demand route, there are daily Iberia flights, offering long haul seating in both economy and business class. Prior of this, I have only been on Lufthansa and Condor business class flights, with inflight meals reaching from being mediocre to being good. It was time to give Do&Co Catering a try on this Iberia flight.
Again, being able to fly a long-haul configured aircraft Intereuropean is a blessing in itself….
Terminal 4 felt very clean and modern, although the building has been built almost 20 years ago by the time of this review. There is a dedicated business class check-in area with several desks and no waiting time at all. I dropped of my luggage and entered the secure area in a matter of minutes. There is a fast-lane security lane thoroughly located behind the business class check-in area.
Iberia and Oneworld airlines operate out of terminal T4 and out of the satellite terminal T4S. The latter handles Non-Schengen flights.
My flight was departing from the satellite building, which could be reached by underground trains.
There are two Iberia lounges in MAD, one located in the Non-Schengen area (Iberia Premium Lounge Velazquez) and one in the Schengen area (Iberia Premium Lounge Dali).
Oneworld business class passengers, as well as Oneworld Sappphire / Emerald holders can access the Iberia Velasquez Lounge in terminal T4S. You can of course also use the Iberia Dali Lounge in Terminal 4, but I found this lounge to be way more crowded and not as nice as the lounge in terminal 4S. The food offering was also not as extensive.
Although terminal 4S is used for Non-Schengen departures only, it is also possible to access the Velasquez lounge if you are departing on a Schengen area flight from Terminal 4. Be aware that you have to clear passport control though. A colleague who was flying back to Frankfurt, accompanied me to the Velasquez lounge without a problem.
The lounge looks like one long room with several seating options and extensive apron views.
There were buffets located at either end of the lounge consisting of several warm options. In terms of food quality and variety this lounge is one of the better ones out there in my opinion.
At the southern end of the lounge, there was a dining area.
Bordering the dining area there was a full serviced bar, which became my main attraction for the next two hours….
The female bartender was simply exceptional. She was funny and so nice to talk to. I ended up visiting the bar for at least six times during my stay to try out all the Spanish wines the bartender "persuaded" me to try out.
It is so nice to see airline employees being enthusiastic about their jobs, even though they have to put in hard hours and sometimes have to deal with rude and unfriendly passengers.
The seats were comfortable, although they were facing eachother. But this wasn't an issue on today's flight, since the lounge was very empty.
There were shower facilities available.
Before long my friend had to go back to terminal 4 and I made my way to the boarding gate
I highly recommend checking up this lounge in T4S if you have the time. This lounge in my opinion is much nicer than the lounge in terminal 4 (not saying that it is bad in any way).
Carrier: Iberia
Type: Airbus A350-900
Registration: EC-NSC
First flight: 22/10/2021
Cabin configuration: 31J / 24W / 293Y
The Airbus A350-900 is the newest addition to Iberia’s fleet. While the long-haul business class seats are basically the same throughout the fleet, starting in 2023 the newly delivered A350’s will be offering closable business class seats.
Business class is laid out in a staggered 1-2-1 configuration, which you can also find on other carriers like Hong Kong Airlines, Asiana or Thai Airways. There are eight rows offering 31 business class seats (row 1 only has three seats). Regardless of where you are sitting, you get direct aisle access. There are overhead bins above each seat.
Business class spans in a single cabin located between doors 1 and 2. Right behind door 2 there is a premium economy class section with 24 seats and two big cabins, which accomodate 293 economy class passengers.
Iberia Airbus A350-900 business class layout @aerolopa
What are the best seats for couples?
I would recommend to book the ‘honeymoon’ middle seats in the odd numbered rows (1E+F, 3E+F, 5E+F, 7E+F), since they are closest together and furthest away from the aisle.
What are the best seats for solo travelers?
For solo travelers I would say your best bet are the even numbered window seats on the left side (2A, 4A, 6A, 8A) and odd numbered window seats on the right side (3L, 5L, 7L), which offer the most privacy of all the seats onboard this aircraft. These seats are closer to the window, having the console in between the seat and the aisle. There are no privacy dividers though.
There were some storage compartements above the console, housing the headphones for this flight. Right beneath you can find the power sockets for your personal devices.
I didn't end up using the provided headphones on this short flight.
I was sitting in 5L, a seat closer to the window than to the aisle. All seats were made from a grey fabric and felt modern. To some this color scheme might feel boring or sterile. I didn’t mind it though.
The seat itself felt quite spacious with a good amount of privacy and was comfortable to sit in. The console in between the seat and the aisle provided you with enough storage area and extra privacy, especially when lying down.
The table is stored to the side of the IFE screen. The footwell was spacious and open to the side. The space between the footwell and the fuselage allows you to store your blankets and pillows and didn’t restrict legroom.
On the other hand, this open footwell design something to be aware of in the aisle seats, since there is no partition from people passing by.
The seat controls and the IFE controller were to the left of my seat, right above the armrest.
There was a small piece of paper handed out with the meal options. Not overly impressive but it got the job done.
I went for the first option, which came on a tray. The meal itself was very tasty and surpassed my expectation of a European continental flight. The chicken had plenty of flavor and wasn’t dry. The panna cotta in combination with the red wine (Rioja) was delicious.
Although the food was served on one tray, the presentation had a nice touch to it. Overall a very good meal for flight a of this length.
As you expect from a long-haul aircraft, the seat converts into a fully flat bed. I am 180cm tall and had no problems stretching out.
Because of the console, you couldn't really see anyone when lying down. That is a huge advantage over the aisle seats.
The armrest on the right side lowers automatically, while the left armrest can be lowered manually. This gives you plenty of shoulder space when lying down. There were no pillows or blankets provided on this flight.
Luckily the IFE screen is not obstructing legroom on this plane. So there won’t be problems for side sleepers.
The service was fine on this flight. The female flight attendant responsible for my seat was warm, friendly and attentive. The same cannot be said about the entire cabin crew though. Once boarding was complete there was another female flight attendant basically shouting at people (including me) for not having their electronic devices swiched off. Since I was using my phone in flight mode and we weren’t even pushing back, I found this behavior to be very rude and unprofessional. I didn't bother with it that much, since she was responsible for the other aisle anyway and I didn't have to interact with her for the rest of the flight, potentially ruining the experience.
With that being said, drinks were frequently refilled and the cabin was kept clean throughout the flight.
The IFE screen was modern, bright, although a bit reflective. It was still easy to read.
I didn’t check out the content of the IFE and sticked to the moving map.
Iberia business class in the A350-900 is a solid product which I want to try out on a long-haul flight in the future. From the thought-out seat to the food and beverages and lounge, this flight didn’t disappoint. The only real issue was the flight attendant having a bad attitude.
This is one of the most comfortable ways to get from / to Madrid to / from London in my opinion. There is just no way you can beat a A350 on a medium-haul flight. I guess you would get a similar experience on one of Iberias other MAD/LHR services on the A330.
Les contributeurs de Flight-Report ont posté 40 avis concernant 2 compagnies sur la ligne Madrid (MAD) → London (LHR).
La compagnie qui obtient la meilleure moyenne est British Airways avec 7.3/10.
La durée moyenne des vols est de 2 heures et 19 minutes.
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8 Comments
I am really impressed by this detailed, carefully written report. Not only did you cover the usual important aspects of the flight, but I can see that you had your readers in mind. The tips about the best seats for couples and solo travelers, for example! I loved that! Very practical information.
As someone who has never visited a lounge, I sometimes wonder if they are really worth it, considering all the amenities you can find in modern airports these days. I'm happy to know that this one was worth it!
Sorry to hear about that nasty FA. We could recommend the bartender for that job instead! Haha
Thanks for sharing!
I really appreciate your feedback. I am always trying to give the best advice reguarding seat selection to the reader, since the passenger experience can vary greatly depending where you are sitting.
Maybe someone could reach out to IB for the crew swap you mentioned, although then I would feel sorry for everyone visiting the bar from then on ;)
I'm a big fan of Iberia and I love that they run several widebodies on the MAD-LHR route every day! I was able to catch an A330 in J last month, which was a much nicer experience than a narrowbody with Euro-biz!
I like them both about equally. In the Dali lounge usually it's crowded in the central section, but much quieter in the section to the far right (from the entrance) past the bar area. Usually even at peak times you can find space there. The Velazquez lounge in T4S has much better views of aircraft, but it's a pain to use if flying intra-Schengen due to having to clear passport control, as you mention. Similarly, if flying from T4S I wouldn't bother with the Dali lounge since you then have to leave the lounge extra early to go to the train to get to your gate. The worst is when you have a flight in the Schengen M gates in T4S so you don't have easy access to the Velazquez lounge unless you want to go through the whole passport control process or you go to the Dali lounge and leave super early.
I like that bar area and there are great views, but I don't usually like to sit in that section for lack of power outlets, which are available everywhere else in the lounge except for that section.
I absolutely loooove AeroLopa! I have a weird geeky love for seatmaps and theirs are beautiful! And often very accurate information--muuuuch better than SeatGuru, which often seems like random generic info or guessing.
The IFE and seats on the A350 are a bit better than the A330s as they're a newer generation, but otherwise, the A330 is also a nice experience. I can't wait to have the opportunity to fly on the new A350 J cabins with doors. Not that I really care about doors, but just to see how it compares.
Thanks for sharing!
Are you sure you weren't born in Woollamalloo, Kevin ???
thank you for your extensive reply. You are right, the right part (near the showers) is less crowded than the rest of the Dali lounge. I think it just comes down to personal preference of the design in the end :)
I also adore aerolopa, since the seatmaps look much nicer and are more practical to use, as you mentioned.
I've read that the new A350 J doors aren't very high, so they might just be a gimmick, rather than something revolutionary.
I'll be trying out QR QSuite vs. their QSuite 2.0 on the 789 in May, so let's see how the smaller doors compare.
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