Cabin-Check: Business Class at Iberia
Route: Bogota D.C. - Madrid
Flight Time: 10:20
Airplane: Airbus 340-600
Seat: 6G & 6E
Check-in: 9/10
Lounge: 9/10
Service: 8/10
Seat: 9/10
Food: 7/10
Beverages: 8/10
Entertainment: 9/10
Total: 8/10
After an amazing sleep and a wonderful experience at the Four Seasons Casa Medina, by the way the best place to embark for an exciting journey back to Europe crossing the Atlantic. After a 30-minute ride in our black limousine, we arrived at the brand new Bogota Airport. Upon entering the terminal, we headed towards Iberia Business Class counter without any queues and waiting time. The lady at the counter handed us over the boarding passes plus the invitation for the LATAM Lounge. Unfortunately, there is no dedicated Security Control for Business and First Class Passengers, however Security was not an issue at all and we found ourselves in the spacy LATAM Lounge within minutes. The staff welcomed us in a friendly way and we were impressed by the Lounge in Bogota.
Although the Lounge is branded and managed by LATAM (who is a partner of Iberia), it was wonderfully designed and in perfect shape. The entire furniture looked amazing and matched perfect with the design. There was a huge buffet with a selection of very good finger food, cold soft drinks, a selection of alcoholic drinks and a super cool wine bar with a nice selection of wines (2 white, 2 red and an excellent sparkling wine from Chile). We loved the opportunity to be at least able to test South American wines at the Lounge, after having Spanish or South African wine at the restaurants. Sometimes there is nothing more annoying if your flight is delayed, however this time it was just the best news of the day when we were informed that our Iberia machine arrived late so they would need to depart later than scheduled. We were very happy, ordering another round of Argentinian sparkling wine. If we wouldn’t have such an amazing hotel with a top spa (Four Seasons Casa Medina), I would have definitely chosen to take a shower in their super cool bathrooms. In general, I also loved their toilets, which were always extremely clean and had high ceilings. Super chic!
Once boarding started we were the first to board the plane and after a hand luggage control with dogs, we were allowed to our final destination: The Iberia Business Class! With 46 seats in Business class, it is the biggest business class cabin connecting Europe and Colombia. While it is an airy business class, with no galley separating the 46 seats, the seats itself already gave enough privacy and it did not feel too big. As soon as we were seated, we received the amenity kit, menu, wine list and headphones. I kind of liked the seat layout with solely single seats on the windows, and either single seats or double seats in the middle. So if you are travelling with a partner you can go for the middle seats, while single travellers may appreciate the window seats for full privacy. Before I could look for the entertainment we were served a glass of Cava and slippers to enjoy the time on ground. Generally, there was plenty of storage space with space to put your shoes, headphones, magazines, hand luggage and other things. The seats are similar to those in Emirates and Air Berlin.
As soon as we took off and reached cruising altitude, the staff began with service. The first course was a plate of cheese together with a kind of antipasti plate, including roast beef, salad, plums and mozzarella. Bread was served as well and instead of butter, Iberia served extremely nice olive oil. My colleague Lukas was responsible for the wine selection and chose a very nice white wine from Iberia’s regularly changing wine list – by the way the same wines you can have in the Wine bar at Iberia’s VIP lounges in Madrid. For main course we received a chicken breast stuffed with herbs on potatoes and vegetables. I really liked the combination and it was of very good quality, plus matched perfectly with this amazing white wine! The dessert consisted of a typical Catalan dish, which was very tasty and not too heavy. We had a glass of Port wine to the sweet dish and after a Spanish version of Grappa, I fell asleep like never before.
The seats in Iberia business class are extremely good, with a fully flat (180 degrees) bed, which is also long enough for my colleague Lukas. Thanks to the wonderful staff, could get a second pillow which made my sleep even more perfect. Toilets were also very clean and there was a bar in front of the business class where you could get a snack and drinks. Exactly one hour before we landed in Madrid, the staff began to serve breakfast, consisting of orange juice, coffee, scrambled eggs, fruits and a slice of toast. I liked the egg dish as it tasted very nice and creamy. Soon after we finished breakfast, we began with our descending and landed in Madrid quite on time, with just a few minutes of delay which was fine since we had to wait 5 hours anyways for our connecting flight to Munich. Therefore, we directly headed towards the Terminal 4 and Dali Lounge.
The Lounge Dali is Iberia’s flagship lounge accessible when flying within Spain and -Schengen countries. It is very airy, spacious and has lots of seating space. The centre of the lounge is the wine bar and the buffet. Although there is no Bistro and hot buffet like in Iberia’s Lounge at Terminal 4S, it was very nice and beautifully designed. Being arrived from a night flight plus having slight jetlag, we were super happy to see they offer a relaxation room which we made use of for the most time. Indeed, it was very relaxing and gave us some more hours of sleep – a nice invention. There are also shower areas which I also inspected during the 4-hour stay. Although the showers are not as spacious as in Dubai, it looked all very new, clean and I was provided with towels and toiletries by Melia. I like the idea of having the possibility to shower before a connecting flight so you arrive at your final destination refreshed and relaxed.
Our last leg was in an Airbus 320 to Munich, where we opted for the seats 2D and 2F, since these have the most legroom in the entire plane. Iberia was one of the first airlines to stop serving customers with snacks within Europe, tough when flying Business Class, it is still the same with any other European airline. You are served a menu on china and drinks in glasses. So after breakfast and a stop in the lounge, we were served a lunch menu consisting of chicken breast with kind of a risotto, a salad and a cheese plate as well as a Spanish dessert which was really really good. So basically we landed in Munich without being hungry or thirsty at all. Travelling in Business Class is really stress less and helps you so much to arrive in a relaxed way. You simply don’t feel that tired and are able to keep on working. Therefore, I can fully recommend choosing Iberia for your leisure travels and business trips alike! It is an excellent airline and probably the best option for Europeans to go to South America, especially Colombia, Peru or the Caribbean.
A very special thanks to Iberia for supporting us on our trip to Colombia with the flights. However all above written expresses our own opinion and has not been influenced.
