Review: Iberia Business Class Airbus A321XLR (MAD-IAD)

For the return portion of my trip across the Atlantic on the Airbus A321XLR, I flew Iberia’s Airbus A321XLR business class on the eight-hour flight from Madrid (MAD) to Washington (IAD).

I was excited about this flight. For one, it would only be my second flight on the brand new Airbus A321XLR, which is a plane that will become increasingly important for airlines in the coming years. I was also looking forward to giving Iberia’s new business class product a try, as this is Iberia’s first narrow body long haul aircraft, and it has an all-new business class seat for the carrier.

So, how was the experience? In all honesty, it was a mixed bag. There were lots of things I liked, including the cabin design, the technology, and the bedding. That being said, I can’t say that I found the seat to be particularly comfortable, and the meal service also seemed like it could be improved a bit.

How I booked my Iberia business class ticket

I booked my Iberia business class ticket from Madrid to Washington using American AAdvantage miles. Specifically, I booked the following for 57,500 American AAdvantage miles and $169.21 in taxes & fees:

4/30 IB361 Madrid to Washington departing 11:50AM arriving 3:00PM

It’s hard to argue with the value of that, assuming you can find award availability!

Iberia business class lounge & boarding

I flew into Madrid the same morning from Dublin in Aer Lingus’ A320 AerSpace product, so I didn’t have time to properly review the lounge, though I hope to do so soon. I’ve reviewed the Iberia Lounge Madrid in the Schengen area of the airport in the past, and I’ve heard the non-Schengen lounge is even better.

My flight was departing from gate S2. Once at the gate, I saw the plane with the registration code EC-OIL, which was also the first A321XLR in the world to enter commercial service — very cool!

Boarding was scheduled for 11:20AM, 30 minutes before departure, and that’s exactly when it started, with business class passengers being invited to board first.

Iberia A321XLR business class cabin & seats

At the forward door, I was greeted by the friendly crew, and turned right into the cabin. Iberia’s A321XLRs are configured with a total of 182 seats. That includes 14 business class, which are spread across seven rows, in a 1-1 herringbone configuration.

Iberia chose the Thompson Aero VantageSOLO seat, the same seating concept you’ll find in the new JetBlue Mint. Iberia’s business class seat has 34″ of pitch and 21″ of width.

I’m always conflicted on this seating concept. On the one hand, it’s nice to have seats with direct aisle access, unlike on Aer Lingus’ A321XLRs. On the other hand, herringbone seats are sort of outdated, and were cutting edge a couple of decades ago. Ultimately these are some of the sacrifices we’re seeing with the increasing use of premium narrow body jets, since the real estate math is a bit different than on wide body jets.

I assigned myself seat 7A, the window seat on the left side in the last row (in line with my preferences).

I found the seat to be well padded, though I struggled a little to get comfortable, and thought the seat felt quite tight. This might sound silly, but one of my biggest struggles with this seat was the uneven armrests. Not only were they a different distance from the seat, but they were also at a slightly different height, and that just kind of made me feel a bit restless while sitting. I also kept bumping my right arm into the “shell” around the seat.

To the side of the seat, you’ll find a large counter where you can place things, along with an exposed storage area.

This is also where you’ll find the straightforward seat controls, and the charging options, including a USB-A, USB-C, and AC power outlets.

The tray table extends out from underneath the counter, and is a single, large table. So when it’s extended, don’t expect that you’ll be able to escape the seat and go to the bathroom, unlike with some other products. I noticed one quirk, that I hope can be fixed — the tray bounces a lot more than it should, and doesn’t feel very stable.

There’s also an entertainment controller underneath the space where the tray extends, though I didn’t use it much, as the monitor is also touchscreen.

On the opposite side of the seat, you’ll find an enclosed storage area, hidden underneath a small side table.

Closer to the aisle, you’ll find the seat’s 18″ 4K UHD monitor, plus the ottoman, which (sort of) has some storage space underneath it.

I found the monitor to be super crisp, and it could be moved so that you could view the monitor head-on, rather than at an angle.

As you might notice, Iberia doesn’t have doors on its A321XLR business class seats, unlike some other airlines with similar seats. People like to accuse me of having some sort of a door fetish, though let me say that the lack of doors didn’t bother me at all. For example, below was the view from my seat — as you can see, I couldn’t really see anyone.

As you’d expect for a brand new A321XLR, the jet had Airbus’ Airspace cabin concept, including mood lighting, and larger overhead bins. While the larger bins are great, I’ve gotta say, they do make the cabin feel a bit more claustrophobic, as they give less clearance over your head.

I was pleased to see that the overhead consoles also had individual air nozzles, which are all too often missing on planes.

Since I was seated in the last row of business class, I also managed to snap a picture of the economy cabin, which looked as you’d expect.

All-in-all, I’d say Iberia’s A321XLR business class hard product is a mixed bag. I appreciate the direct aisle access and solid tech, but I just struggle a bit with these herringbone seats, and can’t help but feel like they’re a bit tight. But I also get that the A321XLR (in theory) opens up new markets, and there’s something to be said for sacrificing some comfort for more direct connections.

Iberia business class amenities

Waiting at each seat upon boarding was an excellent bedding seat, with a plush pillow, a cozy blanket, and a mattress pad.

There were also headphones at each seat. They weren’t particularly high quality, but given that the plane has bluetooth audio, that didn’t bother me.

There was also a bottle of water placed at each seat.

During boarding, the crew distributed the menus for the flight.

Later during boarding, amenity kits were passed out, which were on the basic side. They had socks, eyeshades, a dental kit, earplugs, and lip balm and hand cream from Uvas Frescas.

Iberia A321XLR business class entertainment

Iberia’s A321XLR business class entertainment is excellent, in terms of both the hardware and software. The 18″ business class monitors have great picture quality, and I found the entertainment interface to be really easy to use.

The system had a large selection of movies, TV shows, music, and games, in addition to the map feature. It was hard to figure out exactly how many options there were (due to the organization), but the selection was respectable, with hundreds of options.

It was easy to use the bluetooth audio, and pair my earbuds to the entertainment system.

Beyond the entertainment system, Iberia also has Wi-Fi on its A321XLRs, with upgraded Panasonic connectivity.

Members of Iberia’s loyalty program and business class passengers receive complimentary messaging, while paid options ranged from €13.49 for a four-hour pass, to €20.49 for a full flight path.

I bought the full flight pass, and found the speeds to be sufficient to stay productive.

Iberia A321XLR departure from Madrid

Unlike my Aer Lingus flight in the other direction, my Iberia flight was packed, with every seat onboard taken. Boarding took a long time, given that boarding an entire plane through a single aisle is less efficient than on a wide body, where you can have multiple doors and multiple aisles.

Boarding ended up wrapping up by 12PM, at which point the main cabin door closed. I very much enjoyed the relaxing boarding music, and then as soon as the door closed, the safety video was screened, and we began our pushback.

At 12:10PM we began our taxi.

I loved the views of planes on the way to the runway, like of the Wamos Air A330, World2Fly A350, and Boliviana de Aviacion A330 (SWOON!).

Our taxi out to runway 14R took around 10 minutes, but then we had to wait another 10 minutes or so before we received takeoff clearance.

At 12:30PM, we started our takeoff roll and rocketed off!

We had a smooth climb out, and the seatbelt sign was turned off around 20 minutes after takeoff.

Iberia business class lunch

As you’d expect, lunch was served after takeoff, and you can find the Iberia business class menu below.

You can find the Iberia business class drink list below. I love how Iberia so heavily highlights Spanish wines.

Service was really slow to get started after takeoff, but I suspect that’s largely because this is a new aircraft for the airline, so it takes time for the crew to get into a rhythm. Around 45 minutes after takeoff, cold towels were distributed.

The first round of drinks was served around 1hr25min after takeoff, and despite the small cabin, service was performed off carts, rather than items being brought on a tray from the galley.

To drink, I ordered a glass of white wine and some sparkling water, and that was accompanied by some breadsticks and a small charcuterie selection. While I don’t eat pork, it’s a nice touch how Iberia serves this before the meal.

Meal orders had been taken on the ground (front to back, so if you’re in the back of the cabin, you might not get your first choice), and then the appetizer and main course were served 1hr50min after takeoff. There were two starter options and three main course options, and all were automatically served with two bread rolls.

For the starter, I selected the green tomatillo ceviche with roasted sweet potato, avocado, heart of palm, and cherry tomato. Then for the main course, I chose the grilled king prawns in a creamy seafood sauce served with squid ink black rice and roasted zucchini. Both the appetizer and main course tasted reasonably good, but they weren’t memorable, or anything.

Then 2hr15min after takeoff, the crew rolled the cart down the aisle with dessert, which included the option of a “homemade chocolate surprise,” Catalan ice cream with white chocolate sticks and crispy wafer, or a cheese plate. They didn’t have enough to try both the dessert and cheese, so I went with the ice cream, which was simple but tasty.

Unfortunately there was no hot water on the flight, so there was no option for coffee or any other hot beverage, which was disappointing.

I’d say the meal service was pretty average. The service was slow, and the quality was decent, though the presentation and quantity could be improved a bit, in my opinion.

Iberia A321XLR business class lavatory

Iberia has a single business class lavatory on the A321XLR, located at the very front of the cabin, by the flight deck. The lavatory was certainly uniquely colored, but other than that, was pretty standard for an A321-family aircraft. There was nothing in the way of special amenities.

Iberia A321XLR business class bed

After lunch, I decided to get a bit of rest, so I reclined my seat and prepared my bedding. The bed is 76″ long, so it’s a good length. However, it definitely feels on the tight side, as you can probably tell based on looking at it. At least the footwell wasn’t overly restrictive, as there’s no small space you have to slide your feet into.

I ended up falling asleep with a little over 5hr30min remaining to Washington, as we were north of the Azores…

…and I woke up with around 2hr15min remaining to Washington, as we were south of Halifax.

Iberia business class pre-arrival snack

Shortly after I woke up, the crew passed through the cabin with some snacks, separate from the pre-arrival service. You can find the snack menu below.

I was offered a Magnum ice cream and chocolate, which was yummy.

Then around 1hr30min before landing, the crew began the second service, and you can find the Iberia business class pre-arrival menu below.

I’ve gotta say, I found the choices to be mighty underwhelming. I ordered the homemade cod pie with roasted artichoke and sundried tomato. It actually tasted great, but it was tiny. It just seems like this should be accompanied by something else, as this really isn’t very substantial.

Iberia business class service

There were two flight attendants working business class. The purser was great — she was engaging and obviously knew what she was doing. I’m not sure if the second flight attendant was just being trained, or what, but he just didn’t seem to “get it” as much.

In theory, having two flight attendants taking care of 14 passengers is an excellent crew to passenger ratio. However, for whatever reason, I found service to be painfully slow.

In fairness, I’m sure crews are still getting used to the A321XLR, so maybe there’s a learning curve. Furthermore, there’s no denying that the A321XLR just seems like a tough plane to work on. Galley space is so limited, and that definitely complicates things.

Iberia A321XLR arrival in Washington

At around 1:50PM local time, the captain was on the PA to announced that we’d be landing in around 45 minutes, and that New York was just off the right side of the aircraft.

Around 15 minutes after that, we began our descent toward Washington.

At 2:15PM, the crew was told to prepare the cabin for landing, and the seatbelt sign was turned on. There was a bit of turbulence on the final approach.

We ended up touching down on runway 1R at 2:30PM.

From there, we had a roughly five-minute taxi to our arrival gate, where we pulled in around 25 minutes ahead of schedule.

As I exited the aircraft, I had the best view yet of the plane.

I then boarded Dulles’ famous people mover, cleared immigration, and headed over to DCA, so that I could fly back home.

Bottom line

I’m thrilled I had the chance to fly the world’s first passenger A321XLR. Iberia’s A321XLR business class is a mixed bag. On the plus side, I appreciate the great bedding, upgraded tech, the swanky cabin, the good entertainment and Wi-Fi, and the well intentioned service.

However, there are also some areas for improvement. For one, I struggled a bit with actually getting comfortable in this seat, due partly to the oddly positioned armrests. I also thought the meal service was sort of limited, and service pace was very slow.

I’m not dying to fly Iberia’s A321XLR again, though I’d gladly book it if the price or schedule were right. There’s simply a difference in comfort between wide body and narrow body jets on long haul flights, though if flying a narrow body allows you to skip a connection, it could be well worth it.

What’s your take on Iberia’s A321XLR business class?