Iberia short-haul Business Class A320neo review (LHR-MAD)

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Most of my intra-Europe flying is done in Economy Class cabins because I (mostly) don’t see the value in paying for short-haul European Business Class cabins, but this flight was part of a larger transatlantic Business Class itinerary and so I found myself sitting ‘up front’ on an Iberia A320neo flying between London and Madrid.

Check-in & boarding

Iberia shares Heathrow Terminal 5 with British Airways and you’ll find the airline’s check-in desks in area ‘H’.

There was no line at all for Business Class check-in, but as I had already checked-in online the day before and as I had no backs to put in the hold, I made my way past the check-in desks and into the British Airways First to which I had access courtesy of my OneWorld Emerald status.

Thanks to the speedy security line in the First Wing, it took me just 7 minutes to get from the Terminal 5 forecourt to the Galleries First Lounge.

If you don’t have access to the First Wing but have access to fast track security (a benefit of a Business Class fare), you can usually expect to get to one of the lounges at the Terminal 5 ‘A’ gates within 20 minutes of arriving (Business lounge access is also a benefit of a short-haul Iberia Business Class fare).

The gate area for this flight was surprisingly un-chaotic, and in a move that I’m not used to seeing at T5, the Iberia gate agents invited all Group 1 passengers to wait in the holding area between the gate and the stairs/escalators to the jet bridge (the area where pre-boarders usually wait) and away from the rest of the passengers.

Boarding started 20 minutes before our scheduled departure time.

Iberia A320neo Business Class cabin

Like its sister airline British Airways, Ibera blocks the middle seats in short-haul Business Class, so you never get more than 2 passengers in a block of 3 seats.

Unlike BA, Iberia doesn’t change the size of its Business Class cabin to suit demand or the route the aircraft is operating, so the cabin is set to 6 rows with a curtain dividing the Business Class cabin from Economy Class between rows 6 and 7.

Also unlike British Airways, the Iberia Business Class cabin features different seats to the Economy Class section.

One key reason why it can be important to be one of the first Business Class passengers to board this aircraft is the fact that the smaller overhead bins above row 1 can be full of the crew’s personal belongings and various health and safety items as well (defibrillator, first aid kit, etc…) and on busy flights, that can mean that storage space is at a premium.

Fortunately, most business class passengers seemed to find somewhere to stow their bags on this flight.

Iberia A320neo Business Class seats

The seats in the Ibera A320neo Business Class cabin are B/E Aerospace Pinnacle leather seats which come with 4-way adjustable headrests.

All seats in this cabin are a little under 18″ wide, and rows 2 through 6 offer just 30″ of pitch (legroom).

There’s a little more legroom available in row 1 (the bulkhead seats) …

… but it’s hard to get away from the fact that this Business Class cabin offer less legroom than JetBlue offers in Economy Class and no more legroom than the US legacy carriers offer in most of their domestic Economy Class cabins.

As if a lack of legroom wasn’t enough, there’s a further issue with the limited amount of pitch that these seats offer.

Because the seats can be reclined by 3″, any passenger in rows 2 – 6 who finds themself being leaned into, will quickly discover that 30″ of pitch + 3″ of recline means that they have little hope of being able to use their tray table (or even their lap) as a place to use a laptop. There’s simply no room.

Row 1 is the only place to be in this Business Class cabin.

Luckily, row 1 was where I was seated (1F – a window seat), so I had a reasonable amount of room for my legs …

… and I didn’t have anyone in front of me so there was no chance that I’d be prevented from getting some work done.

The view ahead of me was this:

The tray table (which was very wobbly) deployed from one of the armrests like this:

And above my seat I had access to reading lights and up to two air nozzles with which to keep myself cool.

For every three seats there are two universal AC power outlets and 2 USB-A ports in this cabin (not an issue as the middle seat is blocked).

Disappointingly, the USB port nearest to me showed less life than a ammonite fossil so I can’t report on how swiftly it can charge a phone. The AC power worked fine.

Overall and if I hadn’t been seated in row 1, I think I would have been very disappointed with this cabin.

Sure, a lot of European Airlines offer just 30″ of pitch in their short-haul premium cabins but that doesn’t make it ok. 30″ is going to be a tight fit for anyone who’s approaching 6ft in height, and even if you’re not that tall, you’re going to struggle to get any work done in this cabin if the person ahead of you decides to recline.

It’s sad that ‘Business Class’ standards have dropped as low as this on most (possibly all) of Europe’s carriers.

Wifi

Iberia’s A320neos offer Inmarsat EAN-powered satellite wifi and Business Class passengers and Iberia Plus members (not just elites) get free messaging onboard.

A 1-hour pass costs €5.99 and a full-flight pass (on a flight of this length) costs €8.99.

The wifi worked quite well for me on this flight – it only dropped a couple of times and the speeds seemed ok – but unless I missed the option, Iberia only allows you to purchase wifi in Euros, so make sure you us a credit card that doesn’t charge foreign transaction fees if you live outside the Eurozone.

Service & dining

Shortly after boarding, I got a nice personal welcome from the lead member of the cabin crew which, while very kind, is one of those things that always makes me feel a little awkward.

I love my top-tier OneWorld status and all the benefits that it gives me, but I don’t have an ego that needs massaging, and I like to keep to myself when onboard, so personal greetings are not something I look out for.

There were no pre-departure beverages offered on this flight, but breakfast was served shortly after we levelled out (this was a morning flight).

There’s no choice when it comes to breakfast in Iberia short-haul Business Class (there’s a choice if lunch is being served) but you can check what you’re going to be served in advance of your flight (on the Iberia website) …

… so you know whether or not to make the most of whatever the lounge has to offer before you board.

On this flight, this was the menu:

And this is what all of that looked like:

I didn’t take up the option of a bread roll (there was a selection), but everything else on the menu is in the image above.

You couldn’t call this a substantial meal, but it was ok.

The omelet was surprising inasmuch as it was edible (most egg dishes served by airlines are dreadful), the yogurt and cinnamon went well together, the mango was the start of the show, but the fact that there were only five chunks was disappointing.

The cabin crew were friendly and polite and as importantly, efficient.

Coffee and tea were offered for a second time as breakfast was coming to an end, and my tray was quickly taken away after I had finished my meal so that I could get back to work without an interminable wait to have my table cleared.

Overall, service was nice, and the food was ok … although there wasn’t very much of it.

Final thoughts

Iberia’s short-haul Business Class is a lot more basic that what you might expect if you have never seen the cabin before, but the same is true of most intra-Europe Business Class cabins.

Unfortunately, as the European carriers appear to have agreed to settle on a common low frills approach to their so-called-short-haul premium cabins, what you see in this review is, not much different from what you’ll also get on airlines like British Airways, KLM, Air France, Lufthansa, etc… so there there’s no one better to turn to.

Yes, the Business Class cabin is better than most of the Economy Class cabin on this aircraft, but even though the Economy Class cabin is fitted with Recaro’s slimline non-reclining seats, rows 12 and 14 Economy Class are probably going to be the most comfortable option for anyone wanting some legroom and/or wanting to get some work done.

These are the exit row seats with 34″ of pitch, and although there’s a good chance that the middle seat will be occupied, if you’re not a person of size that may not matter so much.

90% of my intra-Europe flights are taken in Economy Class because I value the extra legroom that the exit rows give me, and when you have elite status that gives you free seat selection, fast track security, and lounge access, it’s hard to justify paying a premium for the kind of low-cost approach to Business Class that we now see from most European airlines.

Would I fly Iberia short-haul Business Class again? Possibly.

If it was part of a good value long-haul Business Class itinerary and I could lock in row 1 then yes, I’d fly in this cabin again.

If I was booking a stand-alone flight, however, there’s no chance that I’d pay the premium that Iberia charges for this product. It’s simply not worth it to me.

Should you book Iberia short-haul Business Class? Again, possibly.

If you don’t have elite status that gives you free seat selection, fast track security, and lounge access (all of which are benefits that a Business Class fare will give you) and you can live with the poor legroom or you need the extra shoulder space that a blocked middle seat offers, perhaps you’ll find the added cost over an Economy Class booking a good investment.

If your elite status already gives you all the airport benefits, you can lock in an exit row seat and don’t need the seat next to you to be blocked, I can’t think of may reasons why you should pay more than whatever the Economy fare is.

All reviews in this series:

Review: American Airlines 777-300ER Business Class (transatlantic)
Review: American Airlines Flagship Lounge at Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW)
Review: American Airlines A321 domestic First Class (DFW-PSP)
Review: Marriott Desert Springs Villas I (a Marriott Vacation Club property)
Review: American Eagle CRJ-700ER First Class (PSP-PHX)
Review: Escape Lounge Phoenix (PHX) Terminal 4
Review: American Airlines 777-200ER Business Class (transatlantic)
Review: Iberia short-haul Business Class A320neo (LHR-MAD)
Review: Iberia Premium Lounge Velazquez Madrid Terminal 4S
Review: Iberia short-haul Economy Class A320neo (MAD-LHR)