claudia

Hi there! I'm planning a trip to Spain next year, but do not know what airline to choose! I was thinking about Iberia. I have heard a lot of horror stories about wainting a lot to get on the plane, smoking (by the way, I've also heard that no longer is allowed smoking in Iberia Airlines - is that true?)... Please if you have a storie about Iberia, SHARE!! Thank you all in advance!

Jeanie

Iberia is terrible. We flew Iberia to Madrid last June and yes, smoking is allowed. The service was absolutely horrible. I have never seen such rude flight attendants in my life. I actually got yelled at for asking for water. The tv screen wasn't working so we couldn't even see the movie.

Brian in Atlanta

I just read and article last week or so saying that Iberia was ending smoking on all it flights including overseas sometime in October. The article went on to say that pilots and crew were threatening to ignore the order. One pilot said that his passengers would be at risk if he had to go 10 1/2 hours without a cigarette. <BR> <BR>Boy, I hope I never become such a slave to any addiction.

Marion

We flew Iberia over Labor Day week. There is currently a no-smoking ban on all flights which went into effect Aug. 30th. <BR> <BR>Forget watching the movie. On the way to Spain the lights above both sides did not work, so reading was also not an option. <BR> <BR>The food earns the "worst on International Flight" award from us, but we have had worse domestically. The crew is more pleasant if you speak fluent Spanish, but again we have experienced more rudeness on TWA Las Vegas flight. By the way, for both flights they did not load by seat numbers, just by first-come line. <BR> <BR>Good news -- flights were within a reasonable time range, i.e., not late and luggage was not lost -- even with a connecting flight from Costa del Sol in Madrid.

Charlee

Thus far, I have only used this site for its insightful travel planning assistance. However, when I saw this topic, I just had to post a "venting" message.... <BR> <BR>My husband and I have had the fortune of living in Southern Spain for the past two years. The flip side is that we've had to use Iberia for most of our traveling. For flights within Spain and to other countries from Sevilla, Iberia is the only game in town. <BR> <BR>We've flown Iberia more than 10 times in the past two years, and they have only been within 1 hour of the scheduled departure time 25% of the time! We did not even try to travel during the pilot's strike earlier this year. In the past month alone, we were delayed in Sevilla for almost four hours to go to Barcelona for the weekend. The next weekend, my husband's flight to Madrid was delayed for 3 hours. <BR> <BR>We haven't had any better luck traveling to and from Spain from another country on Iberia. We sat in Vienna for 4 hours waiting on an Iberia connection. We were delayed 2.5 hours BOTH WAYS going to Paris. As you can see, a delay Iberia-style is not a mere 30 minutes. <BR>All of our friends have had the same lousy service, regardless of destination. In fact, one couple had their luggage lost going AND coming to Scandinavia on Iberia last month! I could go on and on, and the stories are long and horrible. <BR> <BR>The kicker is their lax attitude about customer service -- they simply do not care. Unfortunately, until another company comes in and breaks the monopoly, we will have to continue to use Iberia. <BR> <BR>If you have any other possibility within a few hundred dollars of their price, use another airline! The money you spend will be worth avoiding the Iberia hassle. <BR> <BR>Thanks for letting me get this off my chest: DO NOT FLY IBERIA IF YOU CAN AVOID IT! <BR> <BR>P.S. We once tried to avoid Iberia by taking the train to Madrid for the weekend, and the train broke down! The train is usually reliable -- it must be our bad luck! <BR>

Phil

I agree, Iberia is a very bad joke; they are always late their personnel is always rude (or so it seems)! You might try Air Portugal: They serve Lisbon from Boston and JFK. I have flown them several times and heve never been disappointed. From Lisbon you could connect to most major Spanish airports by Air Portugal oder Portugalia. Besides Portugal is definitively worth a trip as well.

elvira

Once again, the Fodorites come through. I probably would have used Iberia for a trip to Spain (planning one for a couple of years from now) without the honest comments. I'da been REAL upset...so I'm crossing Iberia Airlines off the list. <BR> <BR>Thanks, two years in advance....

ilisa

We flew Spanair over a year ago from Dulles to Barcelona and had a great flight. Their rates are excellent; at the time it was $398 r/t (in June). The plane was clean and the flight crew very friendly; they couldn't do enough for the passengers. In addition, our food was actually halfway decent. You may want to check into them if they fly out of a nearby airport.

Brad

I have used Iberia on 4 different occasions and each time found them to be rated at the bottom for ontime service; food and at the top for rude attendants. However, I have also heard that Europa Air has better prices, BUT THEIR SEATS ARE FAR TO CLOSE. So, one must select from what is available. Good Luck.

Maribel

Yet another vote for crossing Iberia forever off your list! <BR> <BR>We travel twice a year to Spain for family visits/business and never, ever consider flying this very troubled, poorly run, highly disorganized national carrier. Fortunately from our home on the East coast we have two non-stop options to Madrid on U.S. airlines. But while in residence during the summer in Spain we suffer the plight that Charlee has described. From many Spanish cities Iberia has an annnoying monoply. But with help from an understanding and diligent travel agent, we have found our way from Madrid to Nice on Air Littoral, to London on Debonnair, G0, Easy Jet (cheap!), to Lisbon on Air Portugal and Portugalia, to Barcelona on AirEuropa. All of the above, even the low cost, "no frills" airlines, have provided better service than utterly indifferent Iberia. <BR> <BR>While the general caos at Barajas airport is often impossible to avoid due to the frequent pilot/baggage handler/air traffic controller strikes, flying on Iberia only exacerbates an already difficult situation. <BR> <BR>My motto has been and always will be "just say no" to Iberia if at all possible, and do some hunting for other options. Remember Spanair from Dulles, Continental from Newark, US Air from Philadelphia, etc.

MarkJ

DO NOT FLY SPANAIR!!!!!! Don't know anything first had about Iberia but had some of the worst treatment by an airline ever on a recent trip to Spain via SpanAir. They lied to us about making a connection on the trip home - told us while in the air from Santiago to Madrid (plane fleft 3 hours late - with absolutly no explination) that our connecting flight would be held for us and a bus waiting to take us to the plane. When we arrived no bus (other than to take us to the terminal)then they yelled at us for being late. Our connecting flight left on time. They left us standing in the terminal for about 45 min before they began trying to find us flights on other carriers. Their staff (flight crew and airport) were extremly rude (of course there were a few exceptions) and un helpful. Finally ended up on AirFrance the next day, what a difference pleasant crew all fights (had to go to Paris) left on time. So unless you get a really really really cheap flight and have extra time on either side of the trip and don't mind lies and hassels DO NOT FLY SpanAir!!!!! <BR> <BR>MJ