Samantha

I read that a few people had problems with Iberia airlines. Did anyone else have a bad experience? If so, any suggestions on how to deal with it? It's my honeymoon so I want it to be as comfortable as possible.

Ishoo

Flew Iberia, Delta, TWA, US Air, and Europa to and fro and within Spain. Iberia was the worse by far. However, one can't expect too much from any airline anymore. It has been my experience that airlines and cruise lines don't really care about customers anymore (too many people doing both.) Just don't expect much and you will be better off. Enjoy your trip.

Bill

yeah, i had a huge problem w/ iberia. we are flying to barcelona from philadelphia(connecting through JFK in NY) on 2/11/01. i booked the tickets through expedia(no problem w/ them)in september. i was emailed about a month & a half later that their was a problem w/ my flight by expedia. when i called them, i was told that my flight from phila to jfk had been cancelled w/ no explanation. i was given 3 options:1. complete refund 2. fly out of jfk directly w/ no fare reduction 3.fly out of phila w/ connecting flights in chicago & madrid. when i called iberia directly, i was first told to call back & speak w/ supervisor. when i called back, i was told by a different agent that he was not allowed to take my issue to a supervisor, & couldn't understand why i was upset. he continued to blow me off & told me @ one point, "i don't understand what the big deal is about flying via chicago, you must not fly that often" my beef w/ iberia was the fact that no other flight was offered to me, i was treated as if my request for any explanation was ridiculous. i live 2 1/2 hours from jfk. if a fare reduction was offered, i may have considered staying w/ them & drove,but he in affect laughed @ that request(by the way, @ the time this happened, the fare from jfk to barcelona was $6.00 cheaper than my ticket from phila, which of course was not even offered). i cancelled the flight, re-booked my flight on british airways, & paid $17 less per ticket. my only suggestion would be to not book on iberia-they are total idiots who could have cared less that my flight had been eliminated.

Mariarosa

Because you can accrue mileage on American when you fly Iberia, we flew Iberia towards Madrid and American from Madrid to MIA. The seating configuration on their 747 is: 3-4-3, which is extremely uncomfortable (trust me I had the middle seat). The flights originate in South America...so the plane is already almost full by the time it reaches the USA. We flew out on a Monday evening in the beginning of March (not exactly high season) and the plane was 100% full, so forget about being able to stretch to the seat next to yours. The food is the worst I have ever had on a plane. They only brought out the drink cart once for dinner and once for breakfast. An Italian woman sitting next to me asked for a glass of water and she was ignored three times. Fortunately, she was very pleasant and we struck a conversation. She flies from Costa Rica to Italy often (she has been living in Costa Rica for 15 years, but her family is still in Italy). She said the worst airlines are Alitalia and Iberia. Personally, I have flown what are considered "mediocre" airlines for international flights (e.g., American, TWA...) and "great" airlines (Air France, SAS...). I have also flown obscure airlines (from Dubrovnik to Belgrade in 1988) and I have never had such an awful flight as the one on Iberia.

What can you do? Bring sleeping pills a great book and know that it will be an awful flight (you will not be comfortable), but it only lasts 8 hours. I actually had it codeshared with American...if you have it codeshared with American, you can probably switch to an American flight (MIA) on the same day.

Mickey

3-4-3 is standard coach configuration on a 747, so Iberia isn't unusually bad in that regard. I have heard dreadful rumors to the effect that some airline sometimes configures 747's 3-5-3, but that's hard to imagine.

laura

I flew Iberia from JFK to Barcelona and from Madrid to JFK. Both flights were uneventful, didn't leave late(at least not so much that I remember). On the flight to Barcelona the seats were not comfortable, on the way back much better, must have been a different plane. Food was fine, wine and stuff wasn't offered like it usually is.

thomas

My son and I flew transatlantic on Iberia last week. Thru a frequent flyer mile upgrade, we flew first class for the first time in our lives. It was a divine experience. Great food, twice as much space as we needed, and engaging service.
Sleeping pills are still a good idea for a night flight.