Review of Iberia flight from Madrid to Chicago in Business

introduction

Hello and welcome to this short series of flight reports taking us back home to Southern California after a summer spent with family in Europe. Unsurprisingly, we'll once again be flying a member of the oneworld alliance.

Prior to the pandemic, we mostly flew British Airways across the pond; however, as mentioned in past reviews, we began to fly Iberia more and more as their schedules became more predictable than British Airways' during pandemic times. This was mostly due to Britain's complex and ever-changing Covid entry restrictions. Because we tend to reserve our flights well in advance–usually about a year out–Iberia became a safer bet and over the past two years, I'd grown quite fond of Iberia and the ease of flying in and out of Madrid's gorgeous Terminal 4.  

Although most Western countries had dropped the majority of Covid travel restrictions by summer of 2022, we now like to fly a mix of British Airways and Iberia between the US and Europe.

On the way to Europe in June, we'd flown BA and had gotten to experience the fantastic new Club Suites cabin for the first time–you can find that review here if you'd missed it. In this review, we'll have an opportunity to experience Iberia's improved post-pandemic long-haul soft product. 

routing

Flight reviews in this series

check-in & lounge

Having experienced packed airports during this infamous summer of "revenge travel" we made sure to arrive at the airport early. 

Luckily the Business class check in area was quiet with very little wait for an agent. Our bags were checked through to San Diego; however, the agents were not able to print our boarding passes for the Chicago-San Diego sector operated by American Airlines. It was strange that the system could not get us checked in for the connecting flight, considering the flights were booked as part of the same itinerary. Although the AA/BA/IB transatlantic joint-venture has existed for years now, the 3 oneworld carriers' IT systems still don't communicate properly. I even tried to check in for the AA ORD-SAN flight on the AA and IB apps, but no luck there either–we would need to get out BPs for the domestic sector in Chicago. 

From the Business class check-in desks, it's a very short distance to the Fast Trak security checkpoint to which Business class passengers and oneworld Sapphire and Emerald status holders have access. 

Once again it was a breeze getting through Fast Track security with no wait at all and very friendly agents assisting. 

Upon arriving airside, there is an escalator leading to the main concourse of Terminal 4 (Gates H, J, and K). These gates are reserved for intra-European/Schengen flights.  

To head to Terminal 4S (Satellite gates), we walked left past the very-crowded normal security checkpoint to another set of escalators that lead to the underground train connecting the main terminal and the mid-field T4S concourse. 

Upon arrival at T4S, all passengers heading to non-Schengen destinations head through passport control. Once again is was pleasantly quiet and very quick getting through. 

As we had a few hours to kill before the flight, we headed to the Iberia Velazquez Lounge, which is located in the middle of the concourse. The entrance is inside the main duty-free zone.

The Iberia lounge in T4S is huge, even bigger than the already huge lounge in the main T4 terminal.

There was plenty of seating available and we had no trouble finding a quiet table with a good view of the action on the tarmac.

Each seating area conveniently has multiple power outlets and USB ports for charging electronic devices, which is always nice.

As the lounge is so large, there are two buffet and bar areas on either side of the lounge.  

There was a good selection of both hot and cold fresh options for breakfast.

boarding

We headed to the gate about 10 minutes before boarding was due to begin. Distances can be long at T4 with such long terminals, but I always enjoy the beautiful architecture. 

As a parent, another thing I love about MAD T4 are the children's playgrounds throughout the terminal, including the baggage claim areas! My 3-year-old knows this airport like the back of his hand by now and knows exactly where they are located. These playgrounds are great for getting that extra little bit of energy out of your toddler before embarking on a long transatlantic flight. 

We arrived at the gate just as boarding was beginning. 

Our flight was operated by EC-LYF, an 8 year old A330-300 carrying the name Juan Carlos I 

Being in boarding group 1, we were able to board immediately. 

Iberia A330-300s have 29 seats in Business class, 21 seats in Premium Economy, and 242 in Economy.

The business class cabin features STELIA Aerospace SOLSTYS seats laid out in a spacious 1-2-1 staggered configuration, allowing aisle-access for all passengers. 

Though these are an older generation of the SOLSTYS seat model than those found on the A350, which I've previously reviewed here, they are quite comfortable and roomy. The staggered layout is convenient for those travelling together as there are pairs of centre seats ideal for people travelling together in odd-numbered rows.   

Though obviously these seats are not as private as the British Airways Club Suites on the inbound flight, these are much more convenient for families and couples. As mentioned in my previous review, I couldn't even see my son from across the aisle when sitting in Club Suites.

Also, being in the last row of the Business class cabin, privacy was not an issue on this flight.  

Seats on the window side are also staggered with some closer to the aisle and others closer to the window. For those who seek privacy, window seats A and L in even-numbered rows are true window seats.

My seat in row 7 was on the aisle-side, but again, I didn't mind since it's in the back of the cabin and there was very little traffic in the aisles with the galleys and lavatories forward of the cabin. 

The most obvious product improvement from the onset was better bedding. Each seat had a larger pillow and comforter compared to past experiences, with the nice addition of a mattress pad. 

Each seat features individual universal power outlets and USB ports. Seat and in-fight entertainment system controls are found on the side console. 

Noise-cancelling headphones and amenity kits were also available at each seat upon boarding. 

The amenity kits haven't changed since our last flight, though I've always found the Iberia kits to have above average content for business class.

Legroom is plentiful and the seats are reasonably long in full-flat bed mode. At 5'10" (178 cm), I can lay perfectly straight and not touch the end of the footrest when fully reclined. 

Seeing out of the windows from these aisle-side seats isn't difficult as there's plenty of space to lean over to see out of the window. 

I've always found Iberia's cabin interiors to be surprisingly dull for an airline from such a colourful and sunny country. All the brown, white, and grey just doesn't scream Spain to me. Luckily the red and yellow from the in-seat Entertainment home screens adds some Spanish flair. 

Aside from the dull colours, the Business class cabin is generally pleasant and airy.  

Speaking of Entertainment screens, lets check out the IFE. 

There is plenty of content including Hollywood, Spanish, and international movies, TV series, documentaries, music, games, and children's programming. There are also instructions on how to connect to the in-flight Wi-Fi.
 
The IFE interface itself is only available in English and Spanish, similar to British Airways, which is a shame, but most content is available in multiple languages. My son mostly speaks and understands French, so luckily most children's content was also available in French. 

There is of course also an airshow with some decent graphics. 

You can also browse and select content from the touchscreen remote.

As boarding began to wind down, friendly cabin crew came through the cabin with pre-departure beverages. Choices were water or Cava.

Shortly thereafter another flight attendant came through the cabin handing out printed menus and introducing himself individually to each passenger. I thought this was a nice touch and must be part of the new improved service protocols that have recently rolled out. 

I hadn't seen a paper menu on Iberia in the past two years of flying with them since the beginning of the pandemic.  Another obvious improvement since my last flight on Iberia was the return of multiple choices of appetisers and desserts, something that still hadn't returned to British Airways as of my previous long-haul experience in June.

the flight

Boarding wrapped up on time and we pushed back from the gate shortly thereafter. 

The safety video played on the in-seat screens as we taxied to the runway.

It's always impressive just how long Terminal 4 really is. 

After a short taxi time, we were off. 

A bit over 9 hours of flying time to Chicago today.

Once in the air, I decided to check out the in-flight Wi-Fi.

Business class passengers enjoy complimentary in-flight messaging.

For those wanting more access, there are multiple package options ranging from 5,99€ for 1h to 20,49€ for full flight access. 

I ended up purchasing full-flight access. Speeds were reasonably good. I was able to upload photos and videos and stream content with no issues. 

Here's a look at the seat fully reclined in bed mode. The sleeping area is wide (especially for a 3-year-old) and doesn't have that claustrophobic feeling that can come with seats that have high walls on either side. Note that there is a moveable divider between the seats that can be pulled up for privacy. 

In-flight service began about 45 minutes into the flight with an oshibori. Another service improvement since my last flight. 

Shortly after, the chief purser came to take our meal orders. She introduced herself by name and addressed all three of us by name, thanking each one for being oneworld Emerald customers. She was very friendly and took the time to chat for a bit in both English and Spanish. I certainly appreciated the recognition and friendly greeting. 
 
As the service began, we were heading out over the Atlantic just south of Porto, Portugal.

Great views of Porto and the northern coast of Portugal as we began our ocean crossing.

The aperitif was accompanied by a choice of small tapas, which included olives and cheese. This was definitely a major improvement over pandemic-era service and better than most carriers, who only offer a small bag of crackers or nuts with pre-meal drinks. 

Soon after, came the appetiser course. 

Appetiser:

Cod tartare topped with a crown of sweet red peppers
and kalamata olive tapenade, accompanied by parsley extra virgin olive oil 

A delicious, original, and well-presented dish. It was a creative Spanish twist on Ceviche. I haven't seen such elevated catering and this level of presentation effort in years. A truly premium dining experience! 

I also loved these salt and pepper shakers, an homage to Diego Velazquez's famous Las Meninas.  

I tend to order the fish dish whenever flying Iberia Business class and have never been disappointed. It's always perfectly cooked.

Main:

Poached gilthead bream flambéed with lemon and fennel
on a bed of Riojana vegetables with potatoes

The fish dishes were perfectly accompanied by a nice white Rioja.

For dessert: A plate of Spanish cheeses accompanied by a sweet Jerez wine. 

Delicious meal and impeccably executed coursed service. 

 After the meal, cabin crew distributed bottles of water and small chocolates. 

The cabin in flight.

After the meal, I put the mattress pad on the seat and took a short nap. 

I only slept about two hours as my kid woke up mid-flight and was hungry as he's missed lunch. 

Flight attendants were fantastic, and brought his meal out the child meal within minutes of my asking. I certainly appreciated the great and speedy service, considering it was well outside of meal times. Again, this was a better experience than the BA A350-1000 in June when we'd waited two hours after take-off for my son's child meal.

 As always, his favourite part was dessert. I love how they always make an effort on the presentation of child meals.  

I spent most of the rest of the flight relaxing and watching movies,.

About an hour prior to landing, the pre-arrival meal was served. There was a choice of Rigatoni pasta with meatballs or a Spanish tapas plate. I went for the latter.

Pre-arrival meal:

Manchego cheese with Spanish quince accompanied by Serrano ham,
cream cheese with chives and piquillo pepper stuffed with tuna 

Again, very nice, fresh and well-presented. 

Pretty soon we were making our final descent, on track for an early arrival into O'hare. 

I was on the wrong side to get downtown Chicago views, but I imagine there were some good views from the other side given the approach into ORD. 

We landed early and ended up arriving at the gate 10 minutes ahead of schedule. It could have been more if it weren't for the long taxi time. 

We parked at international Terminal 5, where Iberia passengers, and indeed all international passengers, disembark to go through customs and immigration. Once all inbound passengers are off the aircraft, the aircraft is then moved to American's Terminal 3 for cleaning, outbound passenger boarding, and departure back to Madrid. 

Last view of the cabin before disembarking. 

We walked past the beautiful Lufthansa 747-8i in retro livery on the way to immigration and customs 

It was a very very long walk from the aircraft to the immigrations hall. Although there were no crowds, multiple airport employees were aggressively barking at passengers in the Global Entry lanes rudely asking for proof of access to Global Entry. Luckily, we all had our cards on us, but in years of having Global Entry I've never been asked to show the card…and it's not even used at the kiosk. When I asked why they insisted on seeing the cards, considering they serve no purpose in the actual process, several agents kept repeating "lots of people cheat"—that doesn't even make sense! 

It's impossible to cheat–if you don't have a Global Entry membership, the dedicated kiosks will not work for you and you'll have to go to the back of the regular immigration line. I could maybe see people trying to skip ahead of a few people by going around the regular line through the Global Entry lane, but as you can see, there were no queues at all today. So having multiple agents barking to see Global Entry cards–more agents then passengers in the line, by the way–was completely non-sensical and just unpleasant to have to deal with. Welcome back I guess!! 

And yet, getting screamed at by queue-minders was still better than having to go through the regular immigration line…it was not pretty!

Thanks for reading and feel free to drop any questions in the comments section!