Iberia on the Up? Yes…. but Slowly

September 30, 2013
No Comments
News

On his recent trip to Chile, Martin traveled back with Iberia. Find out what he thought of what he found on board.

ImageI think it’s fair to say that if you mention to someone you are flying with Iberia, you are generally greeted with either sympathy or wishes of luck! Not because of anything to do with Iberia’s safety record, but normally to do with Iberia’s service record. The airline has been sorting out several union issues over the last couple of years which resulted in walk outs of its staff and significant disruption to the travelling public. This seems to have now all be resolved, but even in times of calm the airline has a reputation for bad service, bad food and no seat back TV’s in economy, so why would you travel with them?

Well the main reason is because Iberia flies to almost all major South American airports, direct from its hub in Madrid with convenient connections to the UK and they also have some great lead in prices! On my recent trip to Chile for Expocom 2013 the flights that were booked for me were with Iberia so what’s it like to travel with them?

My plane was an Airbus A330-200 and after a reasonably organised boarding procedure I was welcomed on board by a friendly, smiling member of the cabin crew who directed me to my seat. Now it was immediately clear there were no seat back TV’s and my entertainment for the 13 hour flight was just a few screens down the middle of the plane which showed just 2 films. So my book became my companion for the journey!

Now it would be easy to go on to say the rest of my experience was terrible, but it wasn’t. It does feel that Iberia are making an effort to make up for its short comings with the rest of its on-board service. Dinner was actually delicious for ‘plane food’. I enjoyed genuinely tender beef and dauphinoise potatoes, with a nice salad to start and a great chocolate cake for desert. The dinner came with two top ups of drinks and two rounds of coffee. Most airlines I have travelled with, offer a drink with dinner with a little splash of coffee afterwards and that’s the last you see of the bar! The other surprise was at the other end with breakfast. Normally when you land breakfast is just a token, maybe a stale sandwich, but not on Iberia. We were woken with warm croissants, a cooked omelette, muffins and again two rounds of coffee. The cabin crew were also very good at coming round during the night with several rounds of water and orange juice, something that so easily gets forgotten on other airlines. As for the crew themselves, it is fair to say they were not the friendliest I have ever experienced, but perfectly courteous.

The good news is that Iberia have started a cabin modernisation programme and by the end of 2014 all of their aircraft with be fitted with new seating and seat back TV’s in economy. As we move forward to this date, more and more of their aircraft will have them so your chances will improve. To be honest I think that’s all that’s really missing at the moment. Their great lead in prices and good connections to the UK, just about offset their short comings. Once the cabin modernisation programme has been complete I can see Iberia becoming an airline of choice moving forward. In the meantime, just make sure you take a good book, or load up your IPad with movies!

To enquire about your holiday to Argentina, Chile, Brazil or Antarctica – click here


Share It:
Facebooktwitterredditpinterestmail

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.