Hello from the United States, as Ive completed my quick Aer Lingus & Iberia A321XLR adventure. On the way out, I flew Aer Lingus’ Airbus A321XLR business class, which I’ve already covered. Then for the return, I flew Iberia’s Airbus A321XLR business class on the eight hour flight from Madrid (MAD) to Washington (IAD), which…
Continue reading: Iberia A321XLR Business Class: A Mixed Bag
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
Biz seats on their A321XLR will actually be wider than on their A330s and A350s, while the same 76" length.
The -XLR, like all A321NEOs, will also offer more headroom to economy passengers than any A330CEO.- ConcordeBoy
Well, the numerical data don't always do the justice.
Wider seats? Doesn't necessarily mean more comfort.
L.
I was on one of the early EI flights (YYZ to Dub so short overnight flight) on the 321 NEO and it was over an hour for a drink. That was despite being told it would be quick after take off.
Like you say, I'm sure they're just working it out.
Ben,
Can I ask you about the view out the window? With the seat facing away can you still have decent views outside?
Interesting. So overall was this about on par with Aer Lingus? I'm tempted to do a somewhat similar European trip, especially with Aer Lingus' own website doing a great job displaying award flights now.
@ 777TimetoFly -- You do have to turn your head a bit to look out. It's not too bad if you want to look mostly forward, but it's only tricky if you want to look back at the wing.
I wish more airlines would get creative with their ice cream and serve it in ceramicware rather than just serve it out of the tub.
Herringbone seats are inferior by every measure of customer experience. No one is demanding them, or prefers them.
Airlines are installing them because they allow them to cram more seats into a smaller space. That’s all it is. This arrangement doesn’t need that little standing space next to the seat, as you just back into the seat and flop down. Slicing that space out of multiple rows adds up to the most valuable inches this side of Tom Jones.
Ben - thanks for the great report. Should someone avoid Row 1 all together? I know it has a smaller footwell but has a much larger side table. I have 2 upcoming flights and am continuing to vacillate on my seat selection :-).
@ Bryan -- Personally I wouldn't want to be that close to the lavatory and galley, and I think the further back, the better. But then again, I always prefer to sit in the back. If you have two upcoming flights, maybe try sitting in different parts of the cabin, and report back? 🙂
@ Omar -- Fair question! Avios would've been a slightly better deal, but I have a bigger balance of AAdvantage miles. The main reason, though, is the flexibility. With American, I could cancel the ticket up until departure at no cost. With Iberia, you can't cancel within 24 hours of departure. My layover in Madrid between separate tickets wasn't that long, so I valued the flexibility to get a refund, in the event that I misconnected.
@ Ivan -- Yeah, but I think it's one of those situations where seat width doesn't really do justice to the overall feeling, given how high the walls and partitions around you are.
Just wondering, how does a narrowbody handle in turbulence especially crossing the Atlantic from a passenger standpoint? From all my years of flying, I've never been on an A320 family a/c! And while I assume you would prefer to be on a widebody when crossing the Atlantic, is the difference that great?
There’s more turbulence across American Mid-West than over the Atlantic. Turbulence is nasty on both wide and narrow body jets.
No hot water is definitely not a standard feature of the IB service. I guess something was broken and they obviously didn’t want to delay or cancel for this reason.
Facts. Herringbone has got to go. We're looking at you VS and ANZ. It's 2025, people need to get with the program.
That pre-arrival meal is unfortunately in line with what I got on Air France biz from Paris to New York last summer... a small and very boring brioche bun with some vegetables and cheese on it. The first meal service however was good!
I flew this plane back in January (MAD-BOS). I had a much more positive impression on the seat. I am on the tall side and found it to be surprisingly spacious. Loved the tech, and it felt quite private. The first meal was rather slow, but for a daytime flight I was not bothered by this. Second meal was small, but since the first one took so long there was not that much time between them. Besides, there was a big snack basket that they really encouraged people to take from. Of note, with the smaller plane and setup, they cut back on some of the alcohol choices in business class, but actually kept the nicer stuff. For instance, they have Johnnie Walker Blue, but not the Black Label they carry on the A350s, etc.
This was the first time I have flown Iberia since 2018, and overall I thought it was much improved. The food & alcohol were better, the flight attendants were much nicer, and there were small touches that added to the premium feel (like how the amenity kit matches the chic new flight attendant uniforms).
Iberia has had these extremely small pre-arrival meals for years. First they did it due to Covid. I’ve alwys been wondering how you have never pointed this out.
You even have a post about Iberia reintroducing full meal service after covid. But they kept the ridicolusly small pre-arrival meal portions.
They also have a press release from 2023, that they are starting a more “sustainable” approach to meals. Aka = downgrade.
34.000 miles for TATL bizclass is still great tough.
Flew the MAD-BOS leg on the XLR ~2 months ago. Had a very similar experience to yours re: food quality vs quantity and [more importantly] seat comfort. I'm definitely on the wider side and, while the seat itself at 21" might be fine, the immediate area surrounding the seat was very closed off giving it a cramped feeling. I felt very much sandwiched in from my shoulders, especially in bed mode. Gives a coffin feel for sure.. Having flown JFK-LIS on TP 321LR with P2 in a non-throne seat, I'm not sure which seat alone I prefer for comfort (although comfort aside, the IB experience is better in every way)...
Thanks for the review
I’m a little torn about the xlr
It’s just hard to prefer a narrowbody over a wide body and the 321 just seems to fly so much lower than most aircraft since the wing is at its max
What bourgeois decadence. On BA we've learnt to be happy if we see a quarter of an olive nestled in our dime salad in both cost and size. If you were to find a half had snuck through I think most people would keep it to themselves so you don't risk the dagger eyes of your fellow travellers.
An entire olive on a side dish. Oh I remember those days fondly.
I have flown Iberia from JFK twice in the last year in a half on The A350-900 to Madrid. The first flight was in December in Premium Economy. The service and food were excellent. The seat was very comfortable 15A. My second flight to Madrid from JFK was in August in business class(seat 4A). Again excellent service and food. I love the A350-900. I don’t like narrow body planes to Europe so I hope they don’t change the aircraft from A350-900 on the JFK route. Iberia is a good airline for the price!
Once we get over the shiny thing (new seats!!!! new plane!!!!) we'll quickly realize that herringbone sucks and widebody is still more comfortable than narrowbody, if flying in lie-flat Business. I'll fly on a single-aisle plane if schedule/availability/route are compelling but thanks to Ben's previews and reviews it's becoming clear that there are limits to the inflight experience on these smaller planes. And since I'm a windowgazer, I don't find herringbone layout appealing at all.
Hey Ben,
1. On the hot water, each lav sink has an electric water heater to deliver hot water. Each coffee maker has its own heater as well. Was there no potable water? I.e. individual towelettes in the labs for hand washing?
2. Narrow body aircraft lack space for everything and are weight limited so fewer items on the catering = less weight. Less catering = less trash, where to put the trash, another issue. On the 757s I flew NATL, the flight attendants put bags and bags of trash in the lav for landing as the trash bins were full.
I am flying to Spain in a few days, IAD-BCN then MAD-IAD a couple weeks later. My miles are with AA. I'm one of those who books early and monitors for better flights, indeed I rebooked this itinerary twice. Not once in months of searching did the AA website offer a flight on Iberia. I'm on British outbound and AA return. Does one have to call to get on Iberia??
Downgraded from business to economy and got a $422.00 refund per passenger for MAD-MIA flight after paying over $3500 . Beware. I'll never fly Iberia again.
I think a big issue we will see with the A321LR is the inability to offer a consistent inflight service especially when it comes to F&B.
The galleys just are not big enough to accommodate a full long haul service that a larger aircraft can. Not enough stowages for trolleys, not enough ovens. Many airlines that operate the A321LR already have an 'adapted' meal service on that aircraft on long haul flights (TAP and Aer Lingus) which is purely down to galley space.
Now that we have the A321XLR we are moving into the length of flights that would normally have two hot meals in business class and with the galley space barely able to accommodate the full service for one....well.
I can see this coming from a mile out. I've been saying for years that various aspects of the hard and soft product will be diminished just because they're on a narrowbody plane like this, and noone would listen. Oh well, it won't be me paying for one of these flights. I'm a widebody flyer.
I saw this coming from a mile out. I've been saying for years that various aspects of the hard and soft product will be diminished just because they're on a narrowbody plane like this, and noone would listen. Oh well, it won't be me paying for one of these flights. I'm a widebody flyer.
This is par for the course re: Iberia business class service. I've been on the A350 a few times the past year and the service was just as bland and mediocre, even on the 10+ hour flights from South America.
51k for the 12 hours to EZE/MVD is a bit of a steal, and the taxes/charges are also very reasonable. Their sister airline charges 110k to Ezeiza.
Really helpful review and interesting to hear different perspectives on this seat. Head for Points said the seat was “very comfortable”, and “the widest and most generous I’ve seen in a while”.
Just a couple of comments as a regulated user of Iberia flying out of Lima. I presume you didn’t ask for bread as they had provided the olive oil and butter? Meal sizes do tend to be smaller outside of the US just in general. I was based out of the US for 30 years and it took a while to adjust back to what I now consider normal sized servings. Overall despite some things missing with Iberia I find their overall attitude and service much more pleasant than American Airlines even being an Exec Plat for 15 years.
Downgraded in europe flight. Got 10e compensation. Since then never flying Iberia. Ryanair better
It's my first time flying Iberia to visit my family in Italy. I haven't seen them in 15 years I am pretty scared to fly due of all
Freak accidents going on reading all sorts of article helps me a little bit to understand how international flights worked and what to expect! Hoping nothing happens on the way to deal with 8 hours flight to Madrid just expecting a trip of a lifetime Fly safe Iberia
And fellow passengers ❤️
Curious about cabin temp. I routinely fly from South America to Madrid, and since IB point redemptions are great, I put up with some of the downsides (surly cabin staff). But the two interrelated things I cannot stand are the overly hot cabins and lack of overhead air control. The older A330 was abysmal. The A350 is a little better, but I'm actually choosing a PE seat by the 2nd boarding door over J in the hopes it'll be cooler. Any thoughts on temps?