Thoughts on Iberia Airlines?

Kristen, it's a flip of the coin on Iberian or most any airline regarding compassion or indifference. You hope everyone is at least courteous! Every FA is different and some could have woken up on the wrong side of the bed that morning. The flights on Iberian I've taken have been Intra-European flights and the cabin crew were very professional and courteous.

The best reassurance you can have during turbulence is to WATCH how the FAs react to the turbulence. No one likes turbulence and for me, when I see the FAs take it in stride, that's the best reassurance there is. Keep in mind, the pilots might ask the FAs to be seated momentarily so you can't expect one of them to come to your side because you are "a very nervous flyer" when the captain has issued that instruction or they have other cabin-focused work they must do to secure things from flying about during turbulenc.

Online reviews that the cabin crew "weren't great" epitomize the uselessness of these posts on TripAdvisor or whichever is your website of choice. When you fly often, you realize that the FAs are there to do their job and by and large, they do it well.

Hi Kristen, I'm on the same boat (or maybe plane) as you, I find flying a necessary evil and hate turbulence no matter how many air safety statistics I read.

It's a bit of a hit or a miss with Iberia, they are ok for flights within Spain (they have the most routes in country after all). However, I have to agree with the other reviews you have seen. Their flight attendants can be incompetent and/or not very caring, compared to other airlines.

The few transatlantic flights I've done with Iberia have all been a bit more chaotic and stressful, outside of the norm. If it was up to me, I would try to find an alternative airline (I like Norwegian), but I wouldn't cancel my trip if I had to travel with Iberia. Hope this helps :)

Kristen, we flew with them last May, from Miami to Madrid. It was a round-trip ticket. We were a bit nervous also, but didn't experience any turbulence that I recall. Nothing major. I'm particularly sensitive to all that, since I suffer from motion sickness. Our experience was positive.

From Madrid, we also flew with them to Venice. Then from Rome back to Madrid. That part, a relatively short flight, and only towards landing, was a bit rough. Nothing bad though. The woman next to me was the rudest, but I digress. ...

The customer service and flight attendants were all pleasant.

It’s a major European airline. It is fine. You’ll find bad reviews about every airline.

It’s a major European airline. It is fine. You’ll find bad reviews about every airline.

I agree totally. My only recent experience with Iberia was a few years ago; 4 separate legs, and all were perfectly fine with no complaints about the FA.

I don't think you can categorize FA's on any carrier. I fly BA overseas and I've had the gamut of FA's from caring and fun to ones who clearly hated their jobs and just went through the motions.

My best cure for turbulence is to always keep your seatbelt buckled while in your seat. Most of the people hurt on planes are ones who didn't buckle their belts. Also breathe, turbulence is never fun but 9/10 times it's a normal part of flying. Listening to music helps and closing your eyes.

As to online reviews, take them with a grain of salt. I flew Turkish Air from the US to Istanbul and seeing all the one star reviews was scary. However, I had a decent trip-the plane was new, we were fed constantly and even got slippers and an amenities kit. Usually only complainers write reviews of airlines.

Iberia is fine, Iberia is awful - just like most major airlines.

This should be at or near the bottom of your list of things to worry about (it it makes the list at all). Move on to other concerns.

I flew Iberia twice last May within Europe (between Madrid and Portugal).

Never again, if I can avoid it.

They are the ONLY airline that insisted I check my carry-on bag on both flights, both of which were normal 3x3 Airbus jets. And that includes some smaller European carriers flying prop planes (e.g. airBaltic, which let me take the same bag on their prop plane). On the first flight, they just asked everyone carrying more than a purse to check their carry-on bags. So I did and put my big camera bag (normally under the seat in front of me) up in the overhead bin instead. Didn't make any extra room in the bin - it takes up about the same amount of space.

On the flight back, my carry-on bag clearly didn't fit in the "see if your bag fits in this space" sizer. I took one thing out of my bag to try to make it a little smaller and it still didn't fit - but the sympathetic agent waved me through. (The other agent seemed nasty and probably would not have.) Given that I was connecting in Madrid to a flight back to the US, I worried about this bag being checked; they were using hand tags not tracked by a computer. I'm glad the one agent was a nice guy about it, but I hated having to stress over this.

Both of my seats on these two flights were economy seats. The first flight I purchased directly; the second was part of an AA award ticket. On the first flight, I had what was by far the most cramped airline seat I've ever sat in; in the US, I fly Southwest frequently, and a Southwest coach seat feels like first class by comparison to this. I doubt the guy in front of me appreciated my knees pushing into the back of his seat - sorry, buddy, what else was I supposed to do? Fortunately, it was only a short flight.

On the second flight back to Madrid, somehow my AA award included an "economy-plus" seat - maybe by accident? In any case, when I tried to board that flight, I was told at the door of the plane that I had to wait - my seat wasn't "available" - ? What does that mean? "Someone else is sitting in it," was all I was told. How could that be on a modern jet with a modern reservation system?

Finally I was told I could sit in my seat - which was a more roomy "economy-plus" seat. I deduced that Iberia was trying to sell this seat to someone else, but when they failed to do that, they finally let me sit in it. Weird!

Of course, a transatlantic flight might be a different experience than mine. Or maybe I just had bad luck. But when I read Trip Advisor reviews of Iberia, a number of the reviewers' experiences sounded just like mine.

I wouldn't say "never, ever ever" again would I fly Iberia - if they had a direct flight at a good price that saved me hours vs. flying another way? Yeah, I'd probably do it, but only as a last resort, when every other option was much worse. I'd hate to see how they handle problems; both of my flights were routine. By contrast, I've had great experiences with AA transatlantic flights and especially Delta transatlantic flights. I flew Delta to/from Europe a few times in the last decade, and all of those flights were amazing - great service, good attitude by the flight attendants, etc. A step up from AA, which was still OK. I'd certainly try to fly either of those or any other airline unless Iberia really did save me a ton of time or hassle or something.

Thanks so much for the feedback, everyone.

Andrew, your experience was like many I read about on reviews online and what had me feeling nervous! I read multiple accounts of people having to check carry-on bags and a few accounts of where it went missing, as well as seat issues.

David, I have an anxiety disorder and what might be just a simple flight for some people can be very difficult for me. My anxiety about flying is just slightly lower than my love of travel, so I force myself, but it’s not easy.

Since I’m such a nervous flyer to begin with, it seems like it’s better probably need to go with airlines that I have experience with to create less stress for myself (which is why I no longer fly Alitalia!) I think if I do try Iberia, it’s better if I do a short flight rather than an overseas one.

Again, the feedback is much appreciated.

At least you have a lot of choices for direct flights from NYC to Madrid, Kristen!

Actually, my end goal is Santiago de Compostela and the other choice is to fly Aer Lingus through Dublin. The Iberia route was less expensive but I’m thinking since I am familiar with Aer Lingus, that’s probably the better choice!

It is owned by British Airways if that helps. Last time I flew Iberia Airways it was fine. Unexpected turbulence is out of its control. The crew was pleasant on my short flight from Madrid to Jerez de la Frontera.

as an aside, one of the many things I love about ANA in Japan, is that when there is turbulence and they announce that passengers need to put their seatbelts on, there is also an announcement that turbulence does not impact the safety of the aircraft in any way. It's a great reminder!

Iberia... We flew our parents to meet us in Spain a couple of years ago, and though their experience in the cabin was excellent (these were 3 elderly travelers), everything else was a total hassle. because we had purchased the tickets with our credit card, but we're not actually flying the same flight with our parents,I had to go into the airline office in Spain to show them my credit card and confirm that I had purchased the ticket. Other carriers typically only require you to send them a letter with a photo of the credit card. That was just one of many very annoying small things we had to deal with that we would not have had to deal with with another carrier. Recently, I tried to log on to my avios account and found it impossible for three days to do so.

so, if it's just the flight, it should be fine. But, if, heaven forbid, you have to change your ticket or do anything else, it's going to be a total hassle.

Also, if you haven't read this book, you might consider it.

Soar: The Breakthrough Treatment For Fear Of Flying https://www.amazon.com/dp/0762788003/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_ivNHCb2FPPY3K

I recently was rebooked on Iberia after a mechanical problem on Swiss Air.

I tend to rate carrier on how they handle when things go wrong. Problems happen, but how do you approach the problems and address the customer?

I have found Iberia to be horrible.

Examples - Clearly being run around the airport, I had a short time window, (running from Terminal 1A to Terminal 3, back to Terminal 1A to check in, go through security, after the rebook. The agents reply, shrugs her shoulders "oh well". Not the comfort I'm looking for, while clearly being beat up.

Next, the staff on the route were horrible. Not helpful, not providing service. I speak decent spanish, my wife is fluent, and I've never had such problems communicating with FA of any airline. Not enough drink service, not enough food service, not responsive to requests.

Then they lost my bags. OK, it was a short turn around, I expected it. It happens.
In MIA, no baggage counter, in MIA no computers. The baggage support was a kind older man, with a briefcase with documents that have carbon paper, yes carbon paper.

So, then I try calling for help. Horrible. I am even decent at getting around these systems and getting to humans, but all the humans were combative, not helpful, and thats with me and my wife who speaks Spanish working the problem. Its been constant follow up, really really poor communication, and while my bags are in the US, I still dont have them and I am not confident on the process from here.

So, when things are smooth, nearly any airline is workable. Maybe not Spirit.
However when problems happen, thats when they get tested and I have had decent experiences with plenty of carriers, but Iberia, not a fan, and wouldn't fly them again unless I was forced by the route.

Thanks, mom2, for the book suggestion- I will definitely investigate!!

I appreciate all the responses; I went ahead and booked the flight through Aer Lingus to Dublin and then Dublin has direct flights to Santiago de Compostela. I’ve flown with Aer Lingus before and have been impressed with their customer service so I figured I should probably stick with what I know.

Wayne in Spain,

Our actual flight tp Spain was lovely, and that made me forget the actual booking experience.

My computer will automatically fill in many forms. The Iberia website took my information put it in for me and put my ingo in for my wife. As I typed in my passport number, little did I know that that same number was going into her form too.

Eventually I typed in letter by letter all the info for the both of us. We got our tickets, we got a lovely 30 hour in advance email saying we could check in, and we did.

Now it is time to go home to the USA from Spain using Iberia Air. No email arrived until 17 hours before boarding, I could not check in from my hotel, the train station or from one of the kiosks in the Iberia desk area of the airport. There was one, count them, one person behind a check in desk. She was lovely, but wanted to know what alternate document we used for my wife? Turns out our telephone number is now on her form where her passport number should be. And their computer would not scan my passport, it had to be entered by hand. She was a bit suspicious as to the flukes. We kept saying, "Well, we flew here with this data".

We got our boarding passes. Thank goodness we went in the evening before the day of our flight.

Maybe bad luck, then again maybe it is a cultural experience Rick says we should relish.

Wayne iNES