Iberia A330 Business Class meal, Miami to Madrid Flight: IB6118 Departure time in Miami (MIA): 22:50, actual 22:54 (Concourse E) Arrival time in Madrid (MAD): 13:35 +1, actual 13:25 +1 (T4S) Aircraft: Airbus A330-300 (Miami, EC-LZJ) Seat: 4A, changed to 5J Duration: 8h 45m, actual 8h 31m Date of flight: October 3, 2018
*This is an award ticket, (42,500 Avios plus 800SEK) Business Class flight #169
Video from my YouTube Channel 📺
Miami International Airport
After spending 2 nights in Miami, it was time to fly back home to Europe. From the Hilton Miami Downtown, I took the Metro Mover/Train and arrived at the airport around 6pm. Iberia uses Concourse E which is the same direction to BA and AA.
Check-in Desks, Concourse E
Check in desks were supposed to open at 6:30pm but since I already printed my boarding pass, I could just go straight to security.
Business class and status members get a separate desk for check-in
Fast Track
As a business class passenger, I was able to access fast track which was helpful since I saw the economy lane was quite long.
Duty Free Shops
It took about 15 minutes to clear security and after that, I was on my way to the AA Flagship Lounge located in Concourse D.
On my way to Concourse D, American Airlines aircraft were to be seen 😉
American Airlines Admirals Lounge, Gate D30
As a business class passenger, I could access both the Admirals Club located to the left of the reception ...
I left the lounge around 10pm although I completely forgot that I still had to take the train to the E Concourse. Boarding was supposed to start at 10:05pm so I didn´t have much time. (I would have wanted to take pictures of the cabin before everybody else arrive)
Aircraft, Airbus A330-300 (Miami)
Iberia Airbus A330-300 named Miami 🏊
Boarding, Gate E21
It was already 10:10pm by the time I reached the departure gate where they were boarding the last group of economy class passengers.
Cabin
Iberia´s business class cabin on the A330 consists of 29 seats from rows 1-7 in a 1-2-1 configuration, with seat 8J as extra. Behind the business class cabin is the premium economy cabin consisting of 3 rows. On this flight, I saw one empty seat in business class.
Seat, 5J
As I boarded, I was directed to turn left although I was immediately met by another flight attendant who informed me that they had moved me to 5J which was the same window seat, but on the right side of the plane, to accommodate a lady who wanted to seat close to her husband. It was no problem with me so I immediately went to 5J. Already waiting at my seat was a pillow, blanket, headphones and amenity kit.
Iberia business class pillow
Iberia business class blanket
Moments after settling in, I was offered the pre-departure beverage which was a choice between orange juice and water. I chose the latter. Newspapers were also offered.
I tried a lot of times to connect to the wifi but was not able to 👎
Personal screen
Unfortunately, the screen was not very responsive.
Seat control and IFE controls
IFE controls and headphones
The business class amenity kit consisted of socks, earplugs, comb, toothbrush/toothpaste, shoe horn, shoe bag, Germaine de Capuccini nourishing lip balm, refreshing mist and hand cream. I wished they offered LÓccitane products which I´d seen on other flight reviews instead of Germaine de Capuccini 😉
Inflight Safety Video
Around 10:24pm, boarding was completed and a minute later, the inflight safety video was played. About 30 minutes later, we had a smooth take off. Around 11:02, the purser came on the PA to give us some information about the service. He later came to our seats to introduce himself and take our main course order.
Dining
Business class menu card and duty free catalogue 😉
Dinner menu
Breakfast menu
Other services/Coffee and Tea
Red and white wines
Bar service
Hot towels (which was really wet). Still, kudos to the plate 👍
Around 11:19, the table was set. About 6 minutes later, the captain came on the PA to give us some flight information.
12 minutes later, a tray containing the appetizer, salad and cheese plate was served. I was also offered something to drink (wines, etc.) and I chose a cup of green tea. Bread was also offered and I had a pretzel.
Drinks trolley
For my main course, I had the Mahi mahi which was a little too buttery (with its butter sauce) but still tasted great 😋
Cassis sorbet with waffle topping
Some pralines to go with my green tea
To end the meal, a bottle of mineral water was distributed. I would say that the service was actually efficient and fast (maybe a bit too fast) which was good in maximizing sleep 😉
Movies
From the movie selection, I ended up watching Oceans 8.
Airshow
Airshow enroute to Madrid
Time to Sleep
With a fully flat bed, I was set for a goodnight´s sleep 😉
Lavatory
There are two lavatories on this A330 which were located on the left side of the plane, one in the forward cabin and the other in the back.
Hand wash and hand moisturizer
Lavatory
It´s not that often I see mirrors attached to the door 😉
Snacks
Snacks section in the galley
Breakfast
About 1.5 hours before landing, hot towels were offered.
Moments later, breakfast was served which was all on a tray consisting of some sliced fruits, yogurt, jams, toasted bread and butter. Between orange and pineapple juice, I chose a glass of pineapple juice. Of course, I had a cup of green tea as well.
View minutes before landing in Madrid
Screen showing connecting flights and respective gates.
I was able to browse the Iberia section and confirmed that they do have an Arrivals Lounge in Madrid.
At 1pm, the purser came on the PA to announce that they would be collecting the headphones in the business class cabin.
Landing at Madrid Barajas Airport (MAD)
We landed in Madrid at 1:25pm, ten minutes ahead of schedule although it took a few more minutes for taxiing before we reached our gate.
The first Iberia A350 (named Placido Domingo) which would fly to JFK later that afternoon 😍
Madrid Barajas Airport Terminal 4S
CONCLUSION
I was one of those who took advantage of Iberia´s promo back in June where I was able to get 45,000 Avios simply by booking 5 one way domestic tickets in Spain, for a total of 1,500SEK. I then redeemed 42,500 Avios for this flight, plus taxes of about 800SEK. I would have wanted to book one of their flights from JFK on their new A350 but availability was scarce. Also, I haven't been to Miami before so in the end, I booked an economy ticket on AA to Miami instead, and took this flight for my flight back to Europe. I thought the business class seats were okay as they were fully flat. The food was also very good although still sub par with other airlines like Emirates and Qatar Airways. Service was okay but nothing special. It was definitely not among the best business class flights I´ve had but for the price I paid, I can´t really complain. Overall, a nice airline although there´s still a lot of room for improvement.
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