I’ve been a huge fan of Iberia Business Class since the airline completely revamped its Business Class seats a few years ago. Iberia now sports a staggered Solstis 1-2-1 configuration with an excellent footwell that really allows you to sleep in whatever position you want without your feet fighting each other for a tiny slice of real estate typical for some other configurations.
What has been a drawback in Iberia Business Class is weak service, or “soft product” as our fellow miles enthusiasts like to call it. The food was cafeteria quality, the food service slow and non-enthusiastic, smiles were rare, and the attitude rather cold. However, if my latest limited experience is any indication, these things might have improved.
To begin with, every crew member on both of my legs (JFK-MAD-JFK) was friendly and courteous. The food was really great — the fish I had on my way to Madrid was tender, juicy, and flavorful — surprisingly flavorful, in fact, considering that our taste buds get duller up in the air. Service itself was enthusiastic, and proactive; a flight attendant would offer the wine I was drinking, and made some suggestions about desserts and coffee. Entertainment options, I think, though not 100% sure, have been extended. At least, I thought, there were more choices compared to my last Iberia flight about a year ago.
It’s not all great
One thing about the service made me cringe inside, though. There was this college-age kid sitting across the aisle from me, who was probably hell-bent on squeezing every second of goodness from this experience. Long after the captain announced the landing and people were told to get their seats in the upright position, he kept his seat reclined as if nothing happened, and not a single flight attendant walking up and down the aisle told him anything about it. There are good reasons why these annoying rules are ruining your naps, as well as expectations for reasonable compliance, IMHO.
The BA Business Class JFK lounge in Terminal 7: no good!
If you’re flying Iberia from JFK Terminal 7, you have 2 lounge choices — British Airways with a Business Class ticket (or for Emerald and Sapphire oneworld members) and Alaska with Priority Pass. I visited both lounges and liked Alaska’s ambiance better despite the BA lounge’s being marginally better on food. It’s easy to visit both, since they’re next to each other.
While the BA lounge at JFK has never been anything to write home about, the old one was considerably more pleasant than the new one, IMHO. In Spring 2019 they opened a new Business Class lounge, and man, is it dull! I was looking forward to seeing the new and “improved” lounge so many bloggers were raving about, but I was sorely disappointed. It was spacious, but incredibly boring. That’s not even mentioning three lousy choices of sandwiches (around 4:30 PM). Although again, at least there are sandwiches (Alaska had none, but the soup was delicious 🙂 ).
The Iberia T4S lounge in Madrid is much better!
The (relatively) new Iberia T4S lounge at MAD airport was much better in comparison, but way too limited in food offerings compared to the Terminal 4 lounge I visited on my previous flights (although what they DID have was pretty good). The lounge is located right in the middle of the Duty Free store, and it’s humongous with 2 symmetrical wings. The lounge didn’t look busy at all around 3:30-4:30 PM, but again — humongous!
Iberia T4S Business Class Lounge — the seating
The food might not look extremely appetizing, but it was pretty good, if limited; no complaints there.
This is the right wing. 
The food in the Iberia T4S lounge might not look amazing but whatever I tried was good
The self-service bar offers an extensive choice of wines and some top-shelf liquors and beers.
I did book the shower at the front desk. I didn’t have to wait and was able to proceed immediately. Somehow I forgot to take a picture inside, but it was great! Very clean and the rain shower head was bliss after a long train ride!
Iberia T4S Lounge: the view.
Children’s area. How do you manage to lose an “H?” 🙂
The food offerings were slightly different. I thought it was better in the left wing.
Iberia Avios: a few reminders
Here are the Peak Iberia Avios dates.
- October 2019: 25, 26. 31
- November 2019: 1-4
- December 2019: 5, 6, 8, 14-24, 27-31
- January 2020: 1-13
- April 2020: 2, 3, 8-13, 30
- May 2020: 1, 3, 14, 15, 17
- June 2020: 10, 11, 14, 19-30
- July 2020: All month
- August 2020: All month
- September 2020: 1-13
- October 2020: 8, 9, 12, 22, 23, 30, 31
- November 2020: 1, 2
- December 2020: 4, 5, 8, 16-31
OFF-PEAK Prices
| City | Economy Blue | Economy Full | Premium Economy | Business |
| NYC, Boston, Chicago** | 17K + $73 | 22K + $73 | 25.5K + $73 | 34K + $86 |
| Miami**, Los Angeles*** | 21,250 + $84/$95 | 27,750 + $84/$95 | 31,750 + $84/$95 | 42.5K + $95-$106 |
PEAK Prices
| City | Economy Blue | Economy Full | Premium Economy | Business |
| NYC, Boston, Chicago | 20K + $73 | 28K + $73 | 35K + $73 | 50K + $86 |
| Miami, LA | 25K + $84/$95 | 35K + $84/$95 | 43,750 + $84/$95 | 62.5K + $95 / $106 |
* No PE from Los Angeles
** From Chicago and Miami, the taxes/fees are $84 for Economy and PE and $95 for Business
*** From LA: $95 for Economy and PE and $106 for Business
Taxes/fees are higher FROM Madrid.
- to New York, Boston: $108 in Economy and PE, $119 in Business
- to Chicago: $119 in Economy and PE, $130 in Business
- to Los Angeles: $130 in Economy and $141 in Business
Wait for the next American Express transfer bonus
While Iberia Plus Avios represent an unbeatable value for traveling from the U.S. to Europe, IMHO, you can do much better by waiting until the next Amex transfer bonus to the Avios family. The last one was 40%, and it brought the price of a Business Class ticket to Europe to 25,000 Avios! Availability is generally pretty good — just remember to book your ticket well in advance.
What was your experience(s) with Iberia flights?
