Review of Iberia flight Paris Madrid in Business

Airline Iberia
Flight IB3417
Class Business
Seat 1A
Aircraft Airbus A321
Flight time 02:05
Take-off 07 Mar 14, 08:15
Arrival at 07 Mar 14, 10:20
IB   #51 out of 96 Airlines A minimum of 10 flight-reports within the past two years is required to appear in the rankings. 341 reviews
Leadership
By BRONZE 9584
Published on 26th April 2014
Dear members,

I am getting very slow at publishing lately, sorry about that.
We are back in March, and at that time a lot of us were heading to NYC for the Flight-Report meet-up.

Originally, I planned to travel with the majority of the group on the direct service on Air France, but when a very attractive Business class fare with Iberia popped-up, I had no choice but to book it.

Pititom also took benefit of this fare but with a different routing, maximizing tier point gain with Openskies and AA (ORY-NYC-JFK-NYC-ORY).

Personally I wanted something more exotic and I settled with the following routing:

  1. Paris ORY - Madrid (Iberia, Business, A321)
  2. [YOU ARE HERE]
  3. Madrid – New York JFK (Iberia, Business, A330-300)
  4. [NEXT]
  5. New York JFK – Los Angeles (American Airlines, Business, A321)
  6. [SOON]
  7. Los Angeles – London LHR (American Airlines, Business, B777-300ER)
  8. [SOON]
  9. London LHR – Paris ORY (British Airways, Club Europe, A320)
  10. [SOON]

Wait IBERIA?
Yes you read it correctly Iberia, the unfamous Spanish carrier.
However along with their new brand image, they are modernizing their airline with new seats.
New York being served by their brand new A330-300, you are 100% sure that you will get their latest product, a full flat seat manufactured by Sogerma and already in use with Etihad, Thai, Asiana or Alitalia.

Then I wanted to try the new A321 transcontinental service offered by the legacy carrier American Airlines on their flagship route New-York JFK – Los Angeles.

And to go back to Europe, AA was also the airline of my choice, their new 777-300ER promised a lot in term of hard product with the Cirrus seats (same as Cathay Pacific) and bar, my other choice would have been BA but I already flown with them several times.

European feeding flights will be with IB on outbound and BA on inbound.

To make this routing even better I have convinced 2 elite members, yd75 and hcl75 to join me on this trip.

On this Friday morning we are at Orly Ouest Hall 1

photo 1

One counter is dedicated for Business class and it’s empty

photo 2

Over-informative boarding pass I would say

photo 3

Iberia is having their own lounge, unfortunately it is located landside

photo 4

Let be honest this lounge looks old and uninviting, but at least there is sufficient seating for IB, TP & BA eligible customers.

photo 5photo 6

Press

photo 7

Buffet is standard

photo 8photo 9photo 10

Cereals, yoghurts and Fruits salad

photo 11

Cookies and pastries

photo 12

My selection, a bit of everything

photo 13

Soon enough, we are heading to security via the Access n°1

photo 14

Boarding just started but priority is not well enforced and economy passengers are blocking the way to the gate

photo 15

Our aircraft is the expected A321 with a special marking

photo 16photo 17

Passengers are greeted in Spanish and are asked to store their carry-hand luggage
Standard Recaro seat with the middle seat blocked in Business

photo 18photo 19

Press is distributed and my neighbour seems to enjoy its Les Echos!

photo 20

We are leaving on time and after a short taxy we are up in the air.


Back in Economy it’s full house today!

photo 21

Business is full too with 3 rows
I will let you judge the legroom and recline:

photo 22

Warm breakfast is offered by the friendly crew, no choice and everything on one tray with toast and croissant

photo 23

There is no menu distributed
Fruits salad, Actimel yoghurt

photo 24

Strawberry jam, butter

photo 25

Omelet with ham

photo 26photo 27

This is a comprehensive breakfast, taste was ok except the croissant and toasts who were very dry.

Fleet overview

photo 28

Seems like someone mix-up aircrafts

photo 29

Do you have yours?

photo 30photo 31

I think It’s Madrid Torejon Air base?

photo 32photo 33

T4N, our next aircraft is already visible, this is the only one sporting the new livery

photo 34

Never heard of UX leasing one of their A330 to this Chilean carrier.

photo 35

Before I forget, our winglet

photo 36photo 37

We are disembarking straight into the boarding area of T4S, impressive building

photo 38

A quick check to the FIDS, our next flight is scheduled at 12:20

photo 39

Vidéo:
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Verdict

Iberia

6.4/10
Cabin5.0
Cabin crew7.0
Entertainment/wifi6.5
Meal/catering7.0

Iberia VIP Lounge

6.4/10
Comfort6.5
Meal/catering6.5
Entertainment/wifi6.0
Services6.5

Paris - ORY

6.9/10
Efficiency8.5
Access7.0
Services6.0
Cleanliness6.0

Madrid - MAD

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

Conclusion

It’s difficult to judge an airline on a short flight, still Iberia delivers a solid product with an on time flight and an appropriate catering for their European Business class passengers.

Flight Attendants were pretty nice, and offered multiple refills of pastries and drinks during the flight.

The downside are the old furnished lounge at Orly and the lack of airshow.

Thank you for reading.

Information on the route Paris (ORY) Madrid (MAD)

Les contributeurs de Flight-Report ont posté 79 avis concernant 3 compagnies sur la ligne Paris (ORY) → Madrid (MAD).


Useful

La compagnie qui obtient la meilleure moyenne est Transavia avec 7.1/10.

La durée moyenne des vols est de 1 heures et 59 minutes.

  More information

13 Comments

If you liked this review or if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to post a comment below !
  • Comment 106857 by
    marathon GOLD 10116 Comments
    Leadership on an IB flight ? that is unexpected indeed, but you weren't flying steerage :)
    Yes, I do have mine :)
    The plane is EC-IJN; the marking reads Orgullosos de nuestra selección = Pride of our [basketball] national team
    I find your rating of cabin comfort a bit harsh, this being a short haul flight.
    Thanks for this FR !
  • Comment 106862 by
    East African 1581 Comments
    After Air Europa, Leadership goes South again, what a nice surprise :)
    No corporate photo (or will it come in another member's FR)?
    Great pictures as usual!
  • Comment 106863 by
    Esteban GOLD 19853 Comments
    Thanks for this report ! The catering looks really good, what was the thing in the small bottle ? Looks like dressing, but no salad on the tray.
  • Comment 106870 by
    jetsetpanda 2283 Comments
    Thanks for the detailed and informative report.

    It's refreshing to read that the crew on IB was good for a change. Catering is generous and the bottle of probiotic yogurt drink is a nice surprise. The small bottle of oil dressing is perplexing. Is it supposed to be used for your breads along with butter for a healthier alternative? a most unusual alternative in that case.
  • Comment 107091 by
    lagentsecret 12186 Comments
    Thanks for sharing this FR

    A rather great routing

    The lounge is average

    The seat is like almost every Business seat for an european short-haul flight

    Comprehensive breakfast

  • Comment 107989 by
    pititom GOLD 11487 Comments
    Don't worry, I still have flights from February to report ;)

    Technically, you had the choice not to book it and fly AF. But what a choice ^^ As for my routing, it's LAX iso JFK ;) Just as IB which is more infamous that unfamous, or maybe famous for being infamous ?

    Landside lounges are a big downside. But I wasn't treated any better with EC anyway.

    Cabin is standard. Confort in these EU configs is minimum. Hey ? Am I wrong or did you get a non-rev pax as neighbour ^^ ?

    Catering could be worse : let's enjoy this hot omelette. Is that vinaigrette in the bottle ? What is it here for :/ ?

    Not a flight to remember but I totally share your conclusion (in other words, expectances are also low for these fligts).

    Thanks for sharing !

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