#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
In Bogota I'm staying at the Hilton Garden Inn El Dorado. The hotel provides a complimentary shuttle to the airport every hour on the hour. The journey to the airport takes roughly 15 minutes.
With three daily departures to Madrid, Iberia has quite a huge operation here in Bogota. There are two check-in counters for Business Class passengers, and six for Economy Class.
By the time I'm through immigration and security, I have about two hours to go to departure. The boarding card says that boarding starts at 17h20, one hour before departure - which seems a bit excessive.
In Bogota, Iberia uses the LATAM lounge opposite gate A2. However, given that the lounge has no views worth mentioning, I decide to head for my gate at A7 to watch the inbound from Madrid arrive.
Boarding starts at 17:30, which is still quite early for our 18h20 departure. Or maybe not…
The boarding process takes for ever, mainly because passengers and their bags are only allowed into the airbridge in groups, where they and their bags are checked for narcotics by the police. It's all rather unpleasant.
The cabin is laid out in a 1 + 2 + 1 configuration. Seats on the uneven rows are on the aisle, whereas seats on the even rows are by the window.
The seat is brilliant and offers a lot of private storage space.
I am seated on 1C, which means I have even more storage space in the bulkhead, which is rather convenient.
The seat offers a lot of privacy. In addition to the sliding doors, the seats have been arranged to maximize privacy, so that even with the door open, you can't actually see your neighbors.
At my seat when I arrive is a mattress, a pillow and a blanket. A vanity kit is also provided.
The crew on this flight are really great, friendly and very helpful. While boarding is still underway, a selection of cava, orange juice or water is served.
Followed by the menu.
Eventually, we push back from our stand thirty minutes late. No wonder with such a boarding process. We take off toward the south and then make a wide-sweeping left turn to point us in the general direction of Madrid.
The meal service starts as soon as the take-off sign is turned off. The crew are clearly on a mission to keep the service short, so that passengers can maximize their rest. The service begins with an unscented hot towel.
For the starter, I have the guacamole with bread.
The tray is served with the cheese on it to save time later on.
For the main course, I have the spinach ravioli filled with ricotta in a rich, tangy tomato sauce. This is really a very good dish and probably the best thing I've eaten all week in Bogota.
For dessert I have a small apple tart served with dulce de leche, which hits the spot nicely.
And then I go off to sleep
I awake ninety minutes out of Madrid, which means I slept for a solid six hours. The seat is really very comfortable in the bed position. As soon as the crew see me stir, they come to take my order for breakfast. I go with the omelette. which is served with pastries and rolls.
The second meal service is as efficient as the first one. As soon as I'm done, the tray is taken away and shortly after that we start the descent into Madrid's satellite Terminal 4S.
We land and make the short taxi to our stand. And that brings to an end my first Iberia experience on long-haul.
Immigration is very quick. I then take the metro to the main terminal and make my way outside to take the landside shuttle to Terminal 2.
I thoroughly enjoyed this flight with Iberia. First, there's the serious eye candy, by which I am referring to the A 350. It's such an elegant aircraft. The crew and service on Iberia were great. I appreciate that the crew made a point of keeping the service short and efficient. The food was great too. And the seat was incredibly comfortable, which shows in the fact that I slept for six hours!
6 Comments
IBs new Business Class seat is great...you had the same catering as I did. I found it a bit unappealing compared to their offering ex-MAD. If that is the best you had in your time in Bogota, I can give you tips for good restaurants in town for next time you visit.
Thanks for posting!
Thanks for your message. In that case, may I just ask: were you given the same treatment to get on the plane with the pat down and sniffer dogs? I just found that so weird. Other than that, I couldn't agree more. Next time I'm heading for Latin American, I'll definitely be taking IB. I also agree with the catering and BA. Generally speaking I find that standards at BA have slipped quite a bit recently.
Thanks for taking the time to comment.
No, I didn't get the pat down (I've red about it because people are complaining in social media, it seems it happens in "hot" flights
Cheers
Looking forward to reading your next FR.
Thanks for your message. I know the feeling. And I also know what I'm like. If I don't post fairly soon after I end a trip, the likelihood is that I never will because I get easily distracted by other things. Is your report now online? I'll have to check it out.
Thanks for commenting.
Iberia have been underrated for years. They're like a hidden gem (in Business anyway)--from the comfortable cabins (even the old ones) to the quality bedding and catering, and consistently good crews, I feel like IB give any European carrier a run for their money. The catering has improved exponentially from what it was pre-Covid, and of course during Covid. With their pre-meal tapas service, I'd even argue that IB catering is better than big sister BA's...granted BA's wine selections are generally better. Overall a very nice experience.
Thanks for sharing!
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