Iberia Vs BA/OneWorld (Iberia)

Member Name: andycris3107

Product:	Iberia
Date:	19/09/04 (4106 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Oneworld Network, Frequency

Disadvantages: Old aircraft, Few 'extras'

Iberia are the national airline of Spain, and are linked to the OneWorld alliance, meaning that any BA flight you take to Spain may well be operated by Iberia.

As a frequent flier between the UK and Spain, I often find that one or both legs of my journey are actually operated by Iberia, though if I have the choice I would always opt for a BA flight.

That's not to say that Iberia aren't good; they are. They do however seem to do just about the bare minimum required to keep you happy, and fail to go that little extra to make your journey that little bit more enjoyable.

Generally their fleet and services mirror those of British Airways. Most short haul European flights are in Boeing 737 oir Airbus A320 aircraft, with just a little more legroom than on the budget airlines. Long haul aircraft use the 747 or A340 aircraft.

My experience shows that generally they run on time and I have rarely had a delay of more than a couple of hours.

If you are lucky enough to fly business class you may be somewhat disappointed at the facilities available to you in the Iberia lounges, which again provide just the bare minimum and fall so far short of BAs superior Business class service that at first I thought I was in the wrong place. Note that if you are flying BA business clas your only option in Spain is the Iberia lounges.

On board the crew appear courtious and professional and i have never felt unsafe or indeed unwelcome.

In economy class the meals are just what you would expect: a dried meal encased in a pre heated tin foil dish, plus a bread roll and a desert, and of course free drinks.

A somewhat worrying fact is that while Iberia remains a full service airline, charging full service prices, they have begun to remove the full service features from their flights. While flights between the UK and Spain appear not to have been affected, many colleagues report that other flights no longer provide meals and refreshments of any sort. Indeed on a recent flight from Barcelona to Mallorca we received nothing at all, not even a drink of water.

Business class short haul flights appear to have remained unaffected, though I do try to select BA over Iberia as their meals and refreshments are far superior. Business class entitles you to a free Spanish newspaper and a more refined meal that is provided on a plate rather than a foil dish, and is of a higher quality than in economy.

Strangely though I have found that even in Business class there is no entertainment available on any Iberia short haul flights. While 2 hours is not a huge length of time, in the very least a little music to listen to would be a welcome distraction. Note that this is also the case on BA.

Where the gap between BA/Iberia really widens is on the long haul flights. Iberia do not have as wide a network as Ba or many of the other OneWorld partners, though it is worth noting that if your destination is in Latin America, South America, or the Spanish Caribean you can save up to 75% by booking with a spanish airline as there is fierce competition on these routes.

Selecting the cheap option though can have it's disadvantages. While Iberia claims to have a gleaming fleet of new long range aircraft with up to the minute entertainment systems, I have yet to see one. For the most part their long range fleet seems a little worn around the edges, and the entertainment system is straight out of the 80's with the large projectors placed at various intervals requiring you to crane your neck at an unnatural angle.
The food remains palatable and drinks are plentyful, and the staff perfectly courtious.

To sum up, Iberia are not a 3rd rate airline. They are professional, timely, and well worth a look. But don't expect a gleaming plane with first class pampering. There are far worse airlines out there, trust me I've been on a few. With a little work and a few simple touches this could be a world class airline

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