Review of Iberia flight Quito → Madrid in Business

Introduction

Welcome all to a brief summary of my recent flight with Iberia en route home from Ecuador. It will be a little more concise than usual as I hadn't intended to review this flight at all, however this changed on the day of departure when I saw that my aircraft was one of Iberia's newest A350s fitted with their latest 'Next' business class product - a cabin that doesn't seem to have been covered on here as of Jan 2024.

This flight was part of a LHR-MAD-UIO-MAD-LHR ticket I'd snagged in late 2022, costing around £1,400 in business. A frankly ridiculous fare given that, through my work in a travel agency, I often see this routing sit at four figures for regular economy. Iberia seem in the habit of releasing very good value business class fares to the likes of BOG, LIM and UIO and so I was very keen to try them long-haul, especially given their mixed reputation amongst travellers and gradual rollout of a new onboard product.

A few notes on the outbound

I didn't document the journey out to Quito in any real detail, although it was my first time flying both Club Europe on BA and IB long-haul. Any cancellation or significant delay to my arrival in Ecuador would've had disastrous knock-on effects to my onward Galapagos plans, so the priority was simple: please get me there on time. And I'm pleased to report they did.

BA's English breakfast was a welcome (if heavy) addition to what was a brutal 06:20 start to the day. On the upside, the fabled "secret" B Gates lounge in T5 was practically all mine for the half hour I could spend there. Madrid's T4 is one of my favourites in the world, and personally I've never shared the struggles some folks report on navigating the terminal during my transit.

My outbound A350 featured IB's standard business cabin. I'd flown it previously on the MAD-LHR run, so will echo the general consensus amongst fliers; it's bland as hell, plenty comfortable enough, good scran, and your enjoyment of it will be mostly determined by the crew that day. Mine were unfortunately on the passive side and not particularly attentive beyond the minimum. The cabin was also plunged into enforced darkness from lunchtime to landing - a cardinal airline sin in my eyes. I'm a relative newbie flying premium cabins, but this experience was probably the first that left me lacking any sense of "wow" at all.

Quito mariscal sucre airport & vip internacional lounge

My taxi set off to UIO from downtown at around 3pm for the regularly scheduled 19:00 IB6454 flight back to MAD. A check of F24 that morning confirmed a pleasant surprise; my flight would be operated by EC-OAY, one of Iberia's newest A350 airframes and one featuring the newest iteration of their business class, dubbed "Next". This softened the blow of having to leave Ecuador after a wonderful few weeks in the country.

I was dropped outside the terminal at 4pm on the dot (my hero of a driver knew about a landslide on the main route between the city and airport so diverted accordingly). Apparently voted best regional airport in Latin America at some point recently, the main terminal space is spacious and airy therefore making my way to the Iberia check-in area was a breeze. 

With so few long-haul services out of UIO, the only other desk with significant amounts of people waiting was KLM's. Iberia occupied a row of 5 desks, with dedicated ones for business and premium economy passengers at either end.

I say "dedicated" desks, however all the check-in staff were occupying economy ones despite myself being the only passenger in the business line. It took 5-10 minutes to be seen, with the staff pointing me to the economy line on the assumption I'd picked the wrong lane at first (an experience reminiscent of my warm welcome to T5 by BA staff on the way out). No matter, my bag was eventually taken and checked through to LHR.

Security and exit immigration took a matter of minutes despite the lack of any priority or fast track lane, and I was through airside in no time. Most (if not all?) international airlines use the Salon VIP Internacional for their premium passengers in UIO, and IB is no different. It's accessed via a lift at the far end of the concourse but practically opposite the gate IB tend to use for their daily flight, which is handy. It's a 3rd party contract lounge and thus can be accessed by Priority Pass and various credit cards too.

I was actually very impressed with the space, design and layout of this lounge. Despite a lack of apron views it was still very light and airy with a variety of seating areas throughout. It was somewhat busy as the late afternoon departure bank approached, but it was never a challenge to find a free seat or table.

There was a manned bar in the centre of the lounge, however guests are limited to just two alcoholic beverages upon presentation of a boarding pass, with any more levying a charge. This isn't unheard of in 3rd party lounges but is definitely a contrast to what I'd expect from dedicated airline lounges elsewhere in the world. It made sense to maximise value here so 2x cocktails were a no-brainer.

My favourite feature of the lounge however was the outdoor terrace at the far end. The design and feel of this space was akin to a chic beach bar with fresh air and a more lounge-y set of seating. Quito's climate just about permitted comfortable lounging temperatures in a shirt and jeans at this hour, so to sink my cocktails with (partial) views of the far end of the runway and verdant mountains beyond was wonderful.

As the sun set and temperature dropped by 5.30pm, I retreated inside and snacked on my last helping of ceviche, not wanting to fill up entirely before dinner on board. Showers were available to request, however I didn't feel the need given the relatively early departure of this overnight flight. There was also a small cooking station where fresh sandwiches were prepared; this seemed the extend of hot food offerings in the lounge.

With 6pm earmarked for boarding, I left the lounge promptly only to find a swarm engulfing the IB gate.

boarding iberia flight 6454

No sooner had I approached the scrum that the gate staff announced a delay of 1 hour to our departure time, going from 7pm to 8pm. Groans aplenty from the masses. Fortunately the lounge was right behind me and they re-permitted entry to anyone on the IB flight who had previously left the lounge.

I was purely burning time at this point and was just keen to get the journey home underway. Despite my fears of a rolling delay, the FIDS soon displayed the IB flight as 'boarding' so I made the pilgrimage back downstairs to try again. I've no idea what had caused the initial delay but Group 1 boarding was already well underway and I could make my way along the sole jetbridge to EC-OAY, delivered new to IB just 5 months prior.

*Disclaimer: not my hat in the reflection…

I'd seen a few videos and reports on the new A350 cabin so knew what to expect, but was impressed upon entering the aircraft nonetheless. It's still a very grey/beige space, with the only splash of colour coming from the bright red 4K IFE monitors. However, the lack of a central overhead bin compartment made it feel incredibly spacious. The new "suite" design certainly just feels and looks a lot more modern and fresh than the chunky old seats.

The 1-2-1 layout is consistent with the old cabin, albeit with aisle seats now having a far greater degree of privacy thanks to the suite design and door. I was seated in 4A for this flight, a window seat flush against the cabin wall and a true window seat. "Aisle" seats in this configuration still have access to a window but you'll struggle to see anything out of it due to distance from the seat and partial blocking by the suite structure.

A pillow and versatile mattress topper were waiting at each seat, with the duvet tucked in the footwell. A rather flimsy set of headphones were provided too, these being stored in the closable compartment at your shoulder. These are no different to the old cabin's amenities.

The amenity kit contained the usual suspects - toothbrush, toothpaste, moisturiser, lip balm and a flimsy eyeshade. Having taken home the amenity kit on the outbound flight, I didn't feel the need to open this one. The bedding is comfortable if not ground-breaking, but it'd be really nice for the headphones to be that bit more noise-cancelling.

In fact, two sets of these headphones awaited me, presumably the previous pair having been left by the previous passenger and not removed. Along with the inbound flight's menu still being in the seat pocket, this suggests a rushed cleaning operation here in UIO - something Iberia have long been accused of both at outstations and their Madrid hub.

I really hope IB can take care of these cabins and maintain their freshness longer than the last iteration did. There are already reports of the seat control icons wearing off on these aircraft, which is easy to envisage when you see them like this:

Not to be too negative however: this upgrade is still an overall huge leap forward for Iberia and puts them on par (at least with regards to hard product) with the likes of KL & AF, and not too far behind sister company BA.

One of the major complaints of the old cabin was how exposed the footwell is. As it's essentially open-sided on one side, you often find your feet getting knocked by passengers/crew in the aisle or falling into the inexplicable gap between the seat and the cabin wall. The new design introduces a more conventional closed footwell, limiting your feet's range of movement but solving the big issue from before. Hopefully the below contrast illustrates it well:

I'm not a particularly tall or large guy and I found both seats to be equally spacious. That said, despite the footwell's improvements it's still quite a small space, and I was conscious of how limited my feet's movement was when trying to rest. I'm a fussy sleeper however, and any design bar something that's the same width as the bed will have me fidgeting.

Personally, I'm just glad Iberia did away with the acre of space that went unused in the old cabin!

departure & service

I was cordially welcomed on board by the crew, and whilst they were very attentive to a number of passengers needing help to locate their seats or store their bags, I was totally overlooked in the pre-departure service. To the point where the passenger behind me had their drink order collected and served, as did the fella in front of me, leaving me to awkwardly request a glass of cava.

Bonus points to IB for simultaneously making me feel like a pretentious so-and-so and a total afterthought.

Anyway, my request was fulfilled and the cheap cava went down nicely. Menus were then distributed for dinner and breakfast choices, as well as a run-down of what's available during the flight.

I'm no wine connoisseur, so I'll let you be the judge of the offerings on this evening's flight:

Interestingly there was no welcome or briefing from the cockpit, and instead the cabin crew advised us of tonight's approximately 10-hour flight duration to Madrid.

Despite the delay, things were moving fairly swiftly and soon the door were closed for a 19:47 pushback. Iberia's confusing safety video played its course and we made our way to UIO's sole runway for a northbound take-off at 20:01 local time.

It's been said plenty before, but it's still amazing just how quiet an A350 is on take-off. The whir of the RR powerplants quickly subsides and there's no buzzsaw-like drone during ascent.

Dinner service began soon after levelling out at cruising altitude over the Colombian border, where the wifi was turned on too. Passengers in business receive complimentary messaging and email service over said wifi. A hot towel service took place just before orders were taken, and unlike the outbound it was actually hot!

I opted for the aubergine starter followed by the prawns for main, served on a single tray with a tablecloth on top. No photographic evidence of the prawns unfortunately, but take that as a good sign! I took the crew's suggestions for wine pairings.

Between a big lunch, extended lounge visit and now this dinner, I was too stuffed to stomach anything other that the ice cream for desert.

A word on the tray table itself - huge! It could easily fit the entire meal setup on with room to spare, as well as being able to tuck neatly under the monitor when needing to exit the suite.

Dinner service concluded promptly with aperitifs and coffee/tea offered. I went for a decaf which disappointingly was an instant sachet, even though the regular coffee on board is espresso. More annoyingly, after this service the crew essentially disappeared leaving my empty tumbler glass, coffee cup and napkins unsecured in my suite overnight. Thankfully there was little to no turbulence en route.

I set the seat to lie-flat mode and fitted the bedding - a little tricky within the confines of the suit area but no hassle really. I got changed in the front lavatory, which offered no discernible difference in amenities to the economy ones. The quirky projected seat numbers on the aisle floor were actually rather helpful in the dark cabin.

I'm a light sleeper at the best of times, and tonight's relatively early departure didn't lend itself to getting any immediate sleep. I watched two movies in the seat's comfortable lounge position before trying for some more solid rest. As you can see below, there is a noticeable narrowing of the bed into the footwell, which as a side-sleeper was a little limiting as either your feet or shins will always be in contact with some part of the seat structure.

A note on the screen and IFE: the display is beautiful, and never suffered from glare either from cabin lights or windows. A decent selection of movies and series were available, including a few HBO shows' first seasons - why do more airlines not do this rather than a few random episodes from season 7 or 8??

I must've managed 3-4 hours sleep, which admittedly is more down to me as a fussy sleeper than any real fault of the seat/bed. I've only gotten more on flights when departing between 10pm and midnight, to give exhaustion a chance to kick in after a few hours.

We were about 2 hours from Madrid when I finally re-seated myself and knocked back another episode of The Last Of Us to pass the time. A small snack station was set up in the galley, from which I picked up a bottle of water (little sandwiches were available on request, which I tried on the way out).

Breakfast followed sooner after, being served in a s till-darkened cabin as we approached Portugal. The blueberry pancakes were a nice change from the usual omelette airline breakfast - a dish that never appeals to me after a handful of hours of on-and-off sleep. The espresso coffee was good and there was a varied choice of bread and pastries to choose from.

A final coffee saw off the remaining 40 minutes of flight, as the cabin was finally illuminated with the midday sun outside. It was a gloriously clear day above the Iberian peninsula.

A winding approach led us onto finals to land on runway 32L at Barajas.

This gave us a perfect rolling exit off the runway and towards the T4S gates in the midst of the midday bank of departures. Our delay meant touchdown at 11:55, 35 minutes behind schedule and concluding a 9:55 hour flight. A nice summary of the flight appeared as we moved towards the gate.

madrid barajas & iberia velazquez lounge

The delay had eaten slightly into my 2:15 hour layover, but not disastrously so. The entire business class cabin disembarked in minutes, and I was in pole position for the long walk towards transit security.

Being first off the plane has probably skewed my experience, but despite the distance I found the T4S transit experience a breeze both times. The security lanes aren't many however - can anyone confirm if this becomes a chokepoint when receiving multiple planeloads of transit passengers?

I had enough time to revisit the Velazquez lounge, this time making use of the shower facilities. There was no wait to get a cubicle and I found the layout to be really smart and fresh (nod nod, wink wink BA). However, a key ingredient was missing…. hot water!

I persevered with an "invigorating" shower experience, too tired to kick up a fuss and grateful to have the option nonetheless. These things happen. There was enough time for a quick hit of the Lavazza machines before boarding was displayed for my onward and rather forgettable A320 back up to LHR, thus concluding my most recent South American venture.

Bonus : Click here display hide

It's the Galapagos, what can I say?

For anyone considering a few action-packed days on the mainland, I'd consider Baños for a few days of hiking, biking and rafting amongst the volcanoes and valleys. Here's hoping for a swift return to stability for the people and country of Ecuador.