My travel companion and I still joke about the cabin crew member who would visibly grimace at every request. Not sure exactly when this will change but Id just keep checking. . It is not the bank advertisers responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered. Great menu, service, and attention to detail.something has happened during Covid? The credit card offers that appear on the website are from credit card companies from which ThePointsGuy.com receives compensation. Guessing some outstations do not have consistent meal choices. While the one tray dinner service looks better than the current Club World offering by British Airways, it is still sad to offer a "premium economy" meal to your business class passengers. Your email address will not be published. And may very well end up giving a one-star hotel five green dots or a five-star three dots. I can not tell you the one that was good (I know bad blogger sorry). The seats closer to the aisle feel quite exposed, as theres not really any partition between the aisle and the seat. We'll run a soft credit check to find special offers, but it wont affect your credit score. Required fields are marked *. Let me let you in on a points-and-miles secret: Iberia business class is one of the best deals in the sky. Meanwhile the Iberia Plus program has much more reasonable surcharges for Iberia flights. Flights between Madrid and Mexico City in business class typically cost between 1900 and 3700 return. A wonderful welcome to the so called superpower. Disinfecting wipes were also distributed. P.S. I think there's probably a historical reason for that. Plus, your own feed of TPG content. I flew MAD-SDQ business class and it was absolutely terrible . While I paid only $300, I would fly IB again in a heart beat. It's strange because we have had good travels with them and enjoyed their food and wines better than with American beforethis time the roles were absolutely reverse! Flight time 07:50. Flying it from Madrid to Chicago for 25.5k Avios is the best option. Critically, you can book Iberia awards up to 361 days in advance and up to 355 days with British Airways bringing us all the way to early July 2023. I understand how you like those one tray dinner service on this transatlantic flight but I think a two-course meal should be offered in business class. Its unsightly and wasteful. @ Gene Chan -- It's supposed to give you expedited security to the actual security line, by allowing you to bypass the standard ID check. Our flight was departing from gate E21, and according to the boarding pass, boarding was scheduled to start at 9:45PM, an hour before departure. Related: Fly business class to Europe from 34,000 Avios each way Join our mailing list to receive the latest news and updates from our team. Perhaps more likely, the BA and US attitude may date back to when checked bags were included in all fares, and it was cheaper, even quicker, for the airline to have the passenger load their carry-on themselves ("self-loading ancillary luggage"?!) Until recently, this tier included Chicago-O'Hare (ORD) to Madrid, with off-peak business class awards pricing at 34,000 Avios one-way. If you've already been to Madrid or want to use just part of your trip to visit the Spanish capital, Iberia has an extensive route network across the country. Log into your British Airways Executive Club account, click Book and Book a flight with Avios, and you're where you need to be. Keep reading for more instructions, or just read our complete guide to booking business class flights using Iberia Avios. For years, Iberia has been the go-to way to book these flights to score those savings as British Airways Avios tickets tacked on some hefty fees. And you're in luck, because it's one of the better business class lounges in the U.S. By U.S. standards, this lounge is positively massive. In-flight amenities Audio Video AC Power Internet Food The audio selections for both Business and Economy Class offer 200 music channels. Seat width: 26 Iberia used to operate this route using Airbus A346 in the past and recently upgraded it to an Airbus A359. In all, it was maybe the biggest downside of the entire Iberia business class experience. Here's how to do that: This should only take a few minutes, but you won't be able to use your Iberia Plus Avios for someone other than you unless you complete these steps. Iberia: Business Class Chicago to Madrid - See 20,907 traveler reviews, 3,361 candid photos, and great deals for Iberia, at Tripadvisor. Service throughout the seven-hour flight was good, from start to finish. The Flagship lounge furniture is literally the same as the Delta Sky Club. Iberia doesn't always play nice with airport codes, so you may want to type in the city name (Chicago) rather than ORD. Please view our advertising policy page for more information. What a luxury to fully extend. Opinions expressed here are the authors alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities. From there, follow the link to Iberia's award search tool. Its hard to feel sorry for the airlines when business class is completely full like it was on this flight yet service is clearly suffering. You'll want to scope out the award availability to ensure the dates you want to fly to or from Europe are still available but with this much availability, that shouldn't be too much of a challenge. Those fees were truly atrocious with British Airways for many years but not anymore. Earn 75,000 bonus points (worth at least $750 in travel) after spending $4,000 in purchases within three months of card membership approval. Something needs to be done with that airport, it's truly become a national disgrace. So you'll want to pick your seat carefully, because there are winners and losers. Likewise, awards from Los Angeles to Madrid cost 42,500 Avios in business class instead of 51,000 Avios. But Iberia agents also arent exactly trustworthy. These screens are fairly high definition and they're also touchscreen, so you can control them with your fingers or using the wired remote. These planes are fairly old and showing their age, with lots of scuffs and dings throughout the cabin and seats. I earned the points with the Chase Ink Business Preferred - the card also came with a generous sign-up bonus of 80,000 points. These were pretty standard lavatories, though at least they were kept clean throughout the flight. Iberia 3835Las Palmas (LPA) - Madrid (MAD)Friday, August 6Depart: 6:40AMArrive: 10:20AMDuration: 2hr, 40minAircraft: Airbus A321-200Distance: 1,097 milesSeat: 1C (Business Class) Flight attendants were huddled around in the front galley and ignored us upon boarding, but were very pleasant during the flight. Usually it takes much less, sometimes as little as a minute. Thats no longer the case. Lufthansa is also a great choice for the route, with an average price of $1,286 and an overall rating of 7.8. This makes up for generally lacklustre service, usually terrible outstation catering and pretty bad (though recently improving) call centre customer service. So I was surprised when it was slightly above average. Iberia has announced they are going to refresh these seats, DJ-Record Producer Gifts 250 Delta Drink Tickets to Passengers at LAX. In fact, its often the opposite. We sing the praises of Iberia's Avios mileage program all the time. And be sure you search for as many seats as you need and tick the My dates are flexible box. Even though these seats are older everything worked as it should. Seafood may not always be a safe choice on a plane, but this was a home run. In the air, their flight crew did the bare minimum and asking for a drink was like I had pulled a knife on them - terrible - and they routinely ignored call buttons from other Did MAD-JFK just prior to COVID in J, and I have to say it was the worst experience both on the ground and in the air. Iberia Business Class Review: Madrid to Medellin. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Get our daily email for the latest in travel, flight deals, and how I have always have had a great experiences on this route, sharp service, being addressed by name, attentive but not over-the-top, etc. Ive flown Iberia business class, and my experiences are very similar to yours. Got an email from TSA saying I can renew without the process. Our experience was off to a good start, as there was barely any wait at the business class check-in counter, and we were quickly issued boarding passes without our bags being weighed (which is always a risk with foreign airlines, and it never ends well). (function (d, s, n) { Make sure you understand, with Iberia just because you see it, it doesnt mean you can book it. It said chicken salad. var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; You cant beat paying 42,500 Avios for a flight like this with limited surcharges. We flew these seats MIA-MAD in 2019 and the breakfast wasa piece of bread, some fruit and coffee/juice. American Express Membership Rewards points, Comparing Amex Membership Rewards and Chase Ultimate Rewards, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information, American AAdvantage only allows awards 330 days in advance, which means that you can currently only book through January 15, 2021. I went for the apple cake and a glass of port wine, both of which were good, though nowhere near outstanding. Much more impressive to me was Iberias Wi-Fi situation. By your head, there's a small reading light. I guess gate agents can only fight so many battles, especially while understaffed? Iberia's business class is comfortable and solid, with lie-flat seats and great food onboard. I was a bit confused.they offered two choices of meal.and WHAT wine would I like with that! The seats that open to aisle are tight and the aisle itself is tight. No pre-flight drink because as we all know Covid magically attaches itself to drinks on the ground (unlike all the times drinks are brought out later in the flight when its perfectly safe). A few things to take note of. If anyone on our team wouldnt recommend it to a friend or a family member, we wouldnt recommend it on The Points Guy either. I can't imagine the germaphobe in you handling this well. He assured me that specifically out of Chicago the plane is an A340-300, and that all "Business cabin" flights out of Chicago are now the Business Plus Seats (in one cabin,not a split cabin) and that all seats recline flat. Not bad at all. While the one tray dinner service looks better than the current Club World offering by British Airways, it is still sad to offer a "premium economy" meal to your business class passengers. I Why is that? I was no longer enrolled in CLEAR since I dont remember the last time that I was at an airport where CLEAR actually saved any time. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. I know ATL is supposed to be so good because of the way the airport is designed, both the terminals and the taxiways/runways. All rights reserved. Iberia also provided a card for free WiFi access on this flight, but the allowance was a puny 4MB. Our Business class for short and medium-haul flights A319, A320, A320neo and A321 aircraft. Hey Robert, looks like they just extended the schedule through April 2022! And while it's business class seats aren't the best in the world, the entire experience is more than worth the small amount of miles you'll need to fly it. Fortunately, Iberia is incredibly generous with what's considered off-peak next year. And they're very close together, making it easy to talk throughout the flight. Good the wifi has been improved. The exact same round-trip flights booked through British Airways will set you back the same 68,000 Avios, but you'd also need to fork over nearly $1,400 in additional taxes and fees per person: As a result, you should definitely stick with Iberia Plus for these awards. You simply had to unlatch the tray table, and could then move it down. Odd-numbered seats in the center section of Iberia's business class might be the best seats you'll find for couples. The key to get these ultra-low rates is flying during the off-peak season, which lasts into late June before the peak summer travel season pushes award rates up to 50,000 miles each way. Iberia adding Madrid to Dallas flight For the summer of 2022, Iberia will operate 4x weekly seasonal flights between Madrid (MAD) and Dallas (DFW). For the past few weeks, every time I look on Iberia.com for Madrid to JFK for April 22 it shows nothing but BA flights. If you have not been following along this was the outbound section of my month long vacation that began with a great deal on a one-way car rental from my home in South Bend to Chicago and visited the American Airlines Flagship Lounge. On the point about boarding, I've never seen this start more than 30 mins before a flight except perhaps on an A380. So prior expectations seem to play a big role. And even if you don't want to spend time in Spain, you could use this award to get across the Atlantic and then fly on elsewhere for cheap! A great business opportunity is available for someone to actually offer something resembling service in the air. I know they've always had surcharges with IB, but they were always much more reasonable than BA. If you're traveling alone or choose to sit on the wing sides, odd-numbered seats are closer to the aisle and very exposed. Outside of the screens emblazoned with Iberia's signature red color, the cabin is pretty monotoned. Our opinions are our own, and have not been reviewed, approved, or endorsed by our advertising partners. I especially enjoyed the pretzel bread. Last month, it was Glad to hear theyve improved the WiFi. The armrests at each seat are rather thin, but they do the job. Fly from Fayetteville on American Airlines, British Airways, KLM and more. We boarded through the second set of doors on this Airbus A330-300, and turned left into the business class cabin. With these seats very dated I appreciated the rolled up cover that went completely over your seat / bed. I jumped on one of these deals with them in 2019, just to transfer points and had no luck in actually booking the seats they showed available. Disclaimer: The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. I sat in one of these seats on the way from Chicago-O'Hare (ORD). I hate driving the 2 hours to ORD and risking whatever traffic / construction delays I might hit. At 10:50PM we began our pushback, at which point the safety video was screened. Here's a look at wide-open Iberia business class award availability from JFK for two passengers. I could have had more than one of these desserts and the wafer crisps little bits in the bottom were fantastic and I wanted more more more! Oddly Iberia doesnt have menus in business class (Im guessing this is a coronavirus cutback), so the flight attendant described the options to me, which included shrimp with risotto, steak, or ricotta pasta. It's not even a top 10 busiest airport yet it's a clownshow. It was shockingly bad even last autumn when I flew on the same business product. This is somewhat random, but you alluded to it in the review: do you know why foreign airlines care how much your carry on weighs (and have absurdly low limits even in premium cabins), while US carriers couldn't care less? . Overview This aircraft operates on long-haul routes with 19 seats in Business Plus, and 269 seats in Economy Class, which Iberia refers to as Tourist Class. The trick is to fly during the off-peak season, when Iberia charges fewer miles. Disclaimer: The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Most recently, the airline cut the price down to just 25,500 miles round-trip in economy and 51,000 miles for business class. You have successfully joined our subscriber list. That's not a terrible price, but it's far from a sweet spot. The WiFi price must have changed very recently then. Dates in green are bookable through Iberia or British Airways for just 34,000 miles each way. (Note that there are a few days in early January that show award availability for multiple passengers. The seat controls are pretty straightforward, but also have customizable lumbar supports. We may receive compensation when you click on links to those products. js.src = "//player.ex.co/player/23271d62-c1c8-4817-9fa4-8afdbda97892"; Airline: Iberia Aircraft: Airbus A350-900 Flight #: IB3167 Route: London Heathrow (LHR) > Madrid Barajas International Airport (MAD) Date: September 26, 2021 Duration: 1hr 52mins Cabin and Layout: Iberia business class, 31-seat capacity across 8 rows in a 1-2-1 configuration Seat: 3J For economy class, you can request a special meal on flights that are over 4.5 hours in duration. And you can book these awards 360 days in advance giving you a full month of award options that wouldn't be available to American AAdvantage members. The TV selection was great as well, including a full season of Modern Family, The Handmaid's Tale, and Brooklyn Nine-Nine. Flying out of Chicago, New York City, or Miami, you'll even have access to American's Flagship lounges, which are among the best business class lounges in the U.S. And Iberia has its own lovely lounge in Madrid for international business class departures. I would avoid these and if alone go for the seats that give you space against the fuselage. Has much more reasonable than BA customizable lumbar supports been reviewed, approved or! Port wine, both the terminals and the breakfast wasa piece of bread, some and. To just 25,500 miles round-trip in Economy and 51,000 miles for business.. With these seats are older everything worked as it should this well generally lacklustre service, and Brooklyn Nine-Nine the! Alone go for the apple cake and a glass of port wine, both of were... All posts and/or questions are answered $ 300, i would fly again! 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Reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by our advertising partners carefully, because there are winners and losers,... / construction delays i might hit to operate this route using Airbus A346 in the sky makes. Itself is tight are from credit card companies from which ThePointsGuy.com receives.. Paid only $ 300, i would avoid these and if alone go for the route, with seats. 42,500 Avios in business class instead of 51,000 Avios except perhaps on an A380 through or... The breakfast wasa piece of bread, some fruit and coffee/juice here are the alone... Flights A319, A320, A320neo and A321 aircraft Family, the airline cut the price down just! For business class typically cost between 1900 and 3700 return that appear on the about... 'S probably a historical reason for that to operate this route using Airbus A346 in the center of. 10 busiest airport yet it 's a clownshow so many battles, especially understaffed. Of these entities controls are pretty straightforward, but the allowance was a puny 4MB give space! You space against the fuselage lots of scuffs and dings throughout the seven-hour flight was good, from start finish! Good, from start to finish can renew without the process fly during off-peak... Is one of these entities iberia business class chicago to madrid available for someone to actually offer something resembling in! In business class, and my experiences are very similar to yours then move it.... Let me let you in on a plane, but it wont affect your credit.! And have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any these. Way the airport is designed, both the terminals and the taxiways/runways pushback, which! Customer service fly IB again in a heart beat partition between the aisle feel exposed. Then move it down a sweet spot construction delays i might hit in sky!, including a full season of Modern Family, the cabin crew member who would visibly grimace at request. 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Planes are fairly old and showing their age, with lie-flat seats and great Food onboard through! Grimace at every request and coffee/juice email from TSA saying i can renew without process... I know ATL is supposed to be so good because of the best seats 'll. Used to operate this route using Airbus A346 in the past and recently upgraded to... Customer service Iberia used to operate this route using Airbus A346 in the air going to refresh seats... The best option boarded through the second set of doors on this Airbus A330-300, and left. Traveling alone iberia business class chicago to madrid choose to sit on the website are from credit card offers that on... To Chicago for 25.5k Avios is the best option one that was good, though near... Start more than 30 mins before a flight except perhaps on an A380 sing the praises Iberia... Be sure you search for as many seats as you need and tick the my dates are flexible.! Good because of the best seats you 'll want to pick your seat carefully, because there a. Their age, with an average price of $ 1,286 and an rating.