Hi all,

Thanks for all your opinions. We(the group) have contacted a travel agent who has gotten us a slightly better deal on AA transiting through Brussels with a direct flight home from Rome. I guess my experience with Iberia will have to wait...
Happy Travels.

Rich

Cruiseluv, I don´t know about international flights, but in spanish flights you can get seat asignments when booking. I haven´t had a problem with them.
I usually do an online check-in the previous day, and then sometimes I might check at one of the machines in the airport, just in case there are free seats that might interest me more.

Bye, Cova

I would fly them to Madrid, but would never connect with them again. I did it once and it was a nightmare. My flight was late into Madrid and I missed my connection to Barcelona. This, however, was not the problem. I'll list the problems step by step.

1. I didn't even know I was connecting until we were landing at Madrid. That information was never provided online or in confirmation emails.

2. Upon landing in Madrid from the U.S., you need to go to a different terminal and clear customs and security. This requires over an hour, minimum. Upon arriving, you will find no information on your connecting flight. No signs, no airline representatives, nothing. You will need to stop at a series of information desks until you find someone willing to look up your flight.

On the plus side, Iberia rebooked me on the next flight at no extra charge.

3. The information desk won't be able to say with certainty where your gate is, but will give you their best guess. When you arrive there, there will be no confirmation. Again, no signs, no airline reps. There might be a plane parked outside, and other travelers will arrive who will confirm that they too are going to Barcelona. You will even see some of the people on your late flight.

4. Twenty minutes before your flight, there is still no confirmation that you're at the right gate. A passenger arrives and announces the flight has been changed to a whole different area of the airport. You walk down the corridor to the flight info board, and see he is right.

5. Upon returning to the gate another passenger announces yet another gate change. After conversation ripples through the group, it is agreed that this new gate is the place to go. The problem is the flight leaves in 10 minutes, and everyone needs to run half a mile across this huge terminal to get the new gate.

Will Iberia hold the plane? Who knows, incredibly enough, there is still no Iberia employee there! As you jog through the terminal, you intercept an Iberia employee running towards the gate you have just left. She confirms the gate change, and you and your fellow passengers just make the flight.

Could someone please tell me what is wrong with these people?! How do you get away without providing the slightest bit of information on where your flights are departing from, from the time one arrives at the airport to the time one gets on the plane? How do you change gates to the opposite end of the airport 10 minutes before the flight is scheduled to depart?

My flight from Chicago was just fine, good service, decent enough food, and free drinks. The plane was a little worn, but not terrible. If I go to Spain again, though, I'll be booking my onward flight through a discount airline, or I'll be taking the train. Of course, trying to buy Spanish railway tickets from the US is another nightmare, but that's another story.