Review of Iberia flight Madrid → London in Business

Airline Iberia
Flight IB 3176
Class Business
Seat 4F
Aircraft Airbus A320
Flight time 02:25
Take-off 18 Nov 15, 13:30
Arrival at 18 Nov 15, 14:55
IB   #48 out of 94 Airlines A minimum of 10 flight-reports within the past two years is required to appear in the rankings. 346 reviews
jetsetpanda
By 2814
Published on 28th November 2015
Hi and welcome to this continuation of my round the world trip with this MAD-LHR segment on IB.

Here is my schedule so far:

SFO-LHR on UA Y - http://flight-report.com/en/report-12219.html
LHR-LIS on TP Y - http://flight-report.com/en/report-12240.html
LIS-MAD on IB J - http://flight-report.com/en/report-12281.html
MAD-LHR on IB J - you are here
LHR-HEL on AY J - http://flight-report.com/en/report-12341.html
HEL-CPH on AY J - http://flight-report.com/en/report-12412.html
CPH-IST on TK J - http://flight-report.com/fr/report-12544.html
IST-HKG on TK J - http://flight-report.com/en/report-12641.html
HKG-SFO on CX J - http://flight-report.com/en/report-12980.html

After arriving into MAD I went straight to IB Sala Dali and was welcomed warmly by a smiling agent. She noted that I did not have a boarding gate printed on my connecting pass and wrote it with a question mark advising that this might change and to please check again when I am ready to leave. I thanked her and entered through the right side. I have been to this lounge before and really liked the open space and warm tones of its interior. The catering is self serve with packaged salads, fruits, sandwiches, and miscellaneous drinks and other snacks from a refrigerator which gives it more of a homey feel, just like being at your own place.

Sala Dali.

photo IB Sala Dali (1)photo IB Sala Dali (2)photo IB Sala Dali (3)


Right side room.

photo IB Sala Dali (4)photo IB Sala Dali (5)


Buffet.




There is a long corridor in the back of the room that connects the two sides.

photo IB Sala Dali (21)


Left side room with a wine tasting corner.




Torre de Oña Limited Edition Reserve 2009.

photo IB Sala Dali (30)


Bar.




Seating area.




Resting area with individual beds. I wish more lounges would feature this amenity.

photo IB Sala Dali (35)photo IB Sala Dali (36)


Attendants were seen throughout the lounge restocking supplies and cleaning the WC's. After a while I left for my flight and it was still assigned to gate H8 which was all the way at the end of the terminal. I had to go through passport control and once at the other side I took a shot of my plane parked at the gate.

photo IB MAD-LHR (1) - Copy


Boarding was announced and people lined up at their respective lines. The flight had a big presence of businessmen today flying between IAG's two main hubs.

photo IB MAD-LHR (2) - Copyphoto IB MAD-LHR (3) - Copyphoto IB MAD-LHR (4) - Copy


I was greeted by a friendly purser upon boarding and quickly took my window seat. There was another FA positioned in J greeting passengers and helping them settle down.

Cabin.

photo IB MAD-LHR (8) - Copyphoto IB MAD-LHR (48)


Once the door closed we taxied out.

photo IB MAD-LHR (9) - Copyphoto IB MAD-LHR (14) - Copy


Take off.

photo IB MAD-LHR (15) - Copyphoto IB MAD-LHR (17)


Menus were passed out.

photo IB MAD-LHR (19)photo IB MAD-LHR (20)


The chief purser addressed me by name and welcomed me onboard, he thanked me for flying IB and advised me that if I needed anything I should just let him know. His demeanor and that of his co-worker working the J cabin were always friendly and professional. I was given priority when it came to meal selection and that was very much appreciated. In all my travels this was one of the few instances that I felt like a valued elite member, and not necessarily on the airline that I have status with (how ironic).

I chose the veal burger accompanied by a glass of pineapple juice. The tray was presented all at once and the bread basket was offered to each passenger at the same time. The meal was adequate for the time and length of the flight. I had trouble opening the small bottle of dressing and asked the flight attendant for a replacement. He immediately brought me a basket with bread and more dressings apologizing profusely for the incident.

The meal as it was presented.

photo IB MAD-LHR (21)

Unwrapped.

photo IB MAD-LHR (22)


Bread basket.

photo IB MAD-LHR (30)



Sides.

photo IB MAD-LHR (24)photo IB MAD-LHR (25)


Nice cutlery with the old logo.

photo IB MAD-LHR (28)


Main dish.


photo IB MAD-LHR (29)


Very disappointing dessert that looked mass produced out of a bag.

photo IB MAD-LHR (26)


After the meal I had a cup of tea and this was nicely presented with a chocolate square.

photo IB MAD-LHR (31)photo IB MAD-LHR (33)photo IB MAD-LHR (34)


Cruising.

photo IB MAD-LHR (35)


Approaching LHR and landing.




Landed on a cold day in LHR and I got ready to take the transfer bus from T5 to T3.
See more

Verdict

Iberia

7.0/10
Cabin7.0
Cabin crew10.0
Entertainment/wifi5.0
Meal/catering6.0

Iberia Sala Dalí - 4

7.5/10
Comfort7.5
Meal/catering7.5
Entertainment/wifi7.5
Services7.5

Madrid - MAD

8.5/10
Efficiency8.0
Access9.0
Services8.0
Cleanliness9.0

London - LHR

8.8/10
Efficiency8.0
Access9.0
Services9.0
Cleanliness9.0

Conclusion

Comfort wise this was the typical intra-European J cabin with the blocked middle seat. Someone sat at the aisle seat so it was a bit more challenging to exit.

The meal was average and nothing to get excited about. A nice appetizer instead of the salad would have been preferable. The single grape with the cheese seems comical. Why even bother? Dessert was lackluster and pretty ordinary. The veal burger was adequate but did not have any discernible truffle aroma or taste.

The crew was an unexpected surprise. Status was acknowledged and the attentive service provided throughout the flight was top notch. It was a joy to be onboard this flight. I truly felt valued as a customer.

Information on the route Madrid (MAD) → London (LHR)

Les contributeurs de Flight-Report ont posté 40 avis concernant 2 compagnies sur la ligne Madrid (MAD) → London (LHR).

Useful

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.

  More information

4 Comments

If you liked this review or if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to post a comment below !
  • Comment 151574 by
    NGO85 SILVER 1980 Comments
    Thank you for sharing with us Adan.

    The lounge's café feels like a convenience store the way the drinks and food are laid out in the open refrigerators, lol. The wine tasting areas is a novel idea to showcase some locals products. I do like how the lounge has that open-terminal feel like in PEK (only nicer looking, lol).

    The catering is quite worrying. The way the tray is presented is very Y with the foil and plastic still on all the food. The lamb burger doesn't look appetizing visually; a very brown main, which really could use some color. The cheese plate is very weak. The dessert looks like it came from Starbucks.

    The little tea service tray is a nice touch.

    A very grey London day on arrival, at least the spotting was nice.

    Not a very strong performance by IB on this flight. Standard European hard product, but pretty uninspiring catering. Only pro was the friendly crew (2 for 2 on IB, so at least you have that going for you).

    Maybe you will win the race to CPH after all...
    • Comment 329465 by
      jetsetpanda AUTHOR 2283 Comments
      The lounge's café feels like a convenience store the way the drinks and food are laid out in the open refrigerators, lol.
      - Perhaps the idea is to make you feel right at home. ;) The simplicity of the catering is quite a contrast to the unique ambiance inside. The Sala Velasquez offers a more elaborate buffet for sure.

      I do like how the lounge has that open-terminal feel like in PEK (only nicer looking, lol).
      - Lounges like that seem more spacious but at the same time noisier.

      The catering is quite worrying. The way the tray is presented is very Y with the foil and plastic still on all the food.
      - To be fair I don't think that IB is the only that presents its dishes covered in foil, but you are right about the catering being worrying. The veal burger did not have a discernible foie or truffle flavor and was just mediocre. The industrial dessert that seems to have been mass produced is certainly disappointing. On a flight like this, I would have preferred a cold seafood plate. Perhaps I should have ordered that meal instead.

      The little tea service tray is a nice touch.
      - Nice presentation and the small piece of chocolate is a well thought addition.

      A very grey London day on arrival, at least the spotting was nice.
      - Oh I warmed up as soon as I hit the F lounges, especially the BA one with a sip of Jack Daniel's whiskey and a few glasses of champagne. ;)

      Maybe you will win the race to CPH after all...
      - Too early to say. It's not over until it is over. ;)

      Thank you Michael for your support. It's always a pleasure to read your comments.
  • Comment 152070 by
    KévinDC TEAM SILVER 6739 Comments
    Another good crew on IB! I just can't believe it. How much are they paying you to say these things, lol :-P
    The flagship lounge looks really nice--kind of impressive.
    Thanks for sharing!
    • Comment 329825 by
      jetsetpanda AUTHOR 2283 Comments
      How much are they paying you to say these things, lol :-P
      - Objectivity is not for sale. ;)

      The flagship lounge looks really nice--kind of impressive.
      - It has a futuristic and slightly abstract twist in my opinion. However the other lounge Velázquez is bigger and has better catering.

      Thank you Kevin for your comments.

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