Iberia is planning on opening a new lounge at Madrid-Barajas Airport (MAD), and itll be the carriers most exclusive lounge to date (thanks to Alexfly for flagging this). Its always nice to see airlines introducing new premium facilities, so kudos to Iberia!
I would have figured non-Schengen makes more sense for a premium lounge, but maybe they’re planning to open one there too.
@ AceQuik -- Yeah, that's what one would assume, but I suspect it comes down to available lounge real estate, which is always tough to come by.
Not sure why it would? Most traffic is within Schengen, so having a premium lounge there makes a bigger impact, both in terms of how many eligible passengers go through, and in terms of how crowded the "general lounge" is. Besides, people travelling on non-Schengen flights can still use the Schengen lounge quite easily (unless connecting between two NS flights), while it's not as easy the other way around.
Obviously, the ideal solution would be to have a premium section in both, but it's easy to see why Schengen is priority. It's not a unique setup either, for example LO only has Elite section in their Schengen lounge.
Because:
- IB has a large NS network to Latin America, and it’s sister airline, BA, is also NS and routes passengers through on the way to/from Latin America.
- NS flights are the ones where passengers are spending the most.
@AceQuik - I'm aware of IB's network to Latin America, but IB has an even larger network to the EU 🙂
Quantity is obviously not the only consideration. Airlines will usually try to target their most premium service at long-haul travellers. S.g. All 3 main US carriers have their very premium lounge concepts only available to those on long-haul tickets. NS lounges being higher quality than their S equivalents is also pretty common in Europe, airlines generally want to put their best foot forward for higher yielding long-haul travel.
Let’s not pretend Ib’s NS network is not a very significant component of the airline, particularly when the UK is also NS for short-haul.
In fairness, having it at the Schengen area allows both Schengen and non-Schengen passengers to use it. Both clear security at the same point and the Schengen lounge is on the same level right past the security checkpoint.
It wouldn't make much/any sense to send it to the non-Schengen flights- they're having a lounge built for FREQUENT FLYERS, not for holders of expensive tickets. Those who need to fly with Iberia every week are more likely to be going to Milan than Montevideo. Moreover, in my [admittedly limited] experience, the Schengen lounge is the one that tends to get more crowded.
As @Ben Holz points out, Emerald pax flying to non-Schengen destinations may still opt for the new lounge, and may well do so if they're on a long connection from a Schengen origin.
Looking forward to a more private, premium space…the existing Schengen lounge can be insanely busy. Iberia definitely does some notable things to make Emerald flyers feel special (Group 0 boarding for example).
OWE continues to be the best alliance status.
Welcome news.
The T4S lounge, non-Schengen, can be busy, but the Schengen side lounge is literally standing room only at times. I’m also about to switch which side I fly from more frequently, making this particularly convenient for me.
Sounds like they wanted to expand the existing lounge, maybe to make it less crowded, and couldn’t for whatever reason. So the next best option is to open another lounge and send oneworld elites there?
“This is a nice passenger experience investment” … how rare that is these days. Good for Iberia. I ain’t MAD about this! *wink*
As for other airlines and lounges, I must say, one of the few benefits of getting ‘stuck in HEL’ (non-Schegen) is that First Class lounge sauna.
They’ve done a soft opening for Platinum Prime and some others that they lead from the Sala Dali to it. The official opening is the 8th of September.
It’s good, but quite small and simple and gets already crowded around 3pm (most crowded time in Madrid T4). The biggest upgrade is the catering. Food is really good, there’s a large selection of drinks (a bar with cocktails and a barista), champagne and for some reasons 2 chocolate fountains.
Appreciate some help from Ben or his many experts since I have looked and can't seem to find the answer online. Flying Iberia into Madrid from Schengen in J and flying out to the USA six hours later on Iberia in J. Can I check out both Schengen and non-Schengen lounges at MAD since I will have plenty of time during the layover or will I be forced to go straight to T4S?
You will NOT have to go straight to the satellite terminal. But the staff at the Schengen terminal will encourage you to go immediately to the satellite terminal because of the often-long waits at exit control, which is after your train ride to the satellite terminal. You'll find the main terminal lounge crowded and with a less extensive food and beverage offering anyway.
@Bobo is correct, you'll have access to both lounges but encouraged to use the Velázquez one.
From my perspective, the most sensible approach is to go to the Schengen lounge for a quick stop involving a visit to the bathroom, a glass of water, and perhaps even an espresso before making the trek to the satellite terminal for the full lounge experience.
That is a differentiating factor for OW and I hope that they can keep going at it! Sometimes even just a separate area and slight elevation suffices to make these members feel emerald is worth it.
Nice to see! Especially when the Iberia lounge situation at MAD is already far better than many airports...
O good, so Iberia does have money, they can finally pay the 600 euros owed to multiple passengers. Still lazy farts working for Iberia.
Does this new lounge have showers? That would be much appreciated for those of us connecting from a trans-Atlantic flight.
Given the literal heat dome design of the terminals, the upstairs lounges are terribly hot and uncomfortable during the summer months. Likely very enjoyable during the winter. Summer pro tip - use them for a shower to cool off, coffee, and JW Blue, then head down to the terminal for some Enrique Tomas.
I've never noticed a temperature issue in the Dali lounge which I've used many times in several seasons.
I've never noticed a temperature issue in the Dali lounge which I've used many times in several seasons.
This lounge looks really nice! Now, if AA could show some J award space on IB…
It is located right after security (even though on the other side of the terminal from the Fast Track - which all guests will be entitled to use), so that both Schengen and Non-Schengen pax have access. Non-Schengen pax will then have to make the trek to T4S, at least until the non-Schengen area on the southern corner of T4 comes online
It's moderately useful for EU passport passengers but as a non-EU passport holder I wouldn't want to risk making my way through to the non-schengen area late if the lines are anything like Amsterdam or Lisbon have been this summer
It'll be good for non-EU pax coming from Schengen origin before a long connection to an extra-Schengen flight. If you're only going to spend an hour in the lounge, going to the Velázquez one isn't exactly a hardship.
Exactly, the abysmal dysfunction of the EU’s exit controls! Reason not to travel to anything Schengen. I spent an hour queuing in HEL instead of going to the lounge because it’s beyond these countries to process departing travellers without EU passports in a timely fashion.
I'm not sure US pax can complain about the state of anything else anywhere in the world, these days lol...
(also have you seen US airports)
Flying through MAD in Oct en route to the Canary Islands—excited to check this lounge out!
Eh, its Madrid, full the the world's laziest gate agent
Wouldn't want to go there even if award space opened up.
Besides the comment being rude and bigoted, have you ever been there? LOL
I've transited many times and never once encountered "the world's laziest gate agent".
Excited to see this, will be transiting MAD (non-Schengen to Schengen) in October and hoping it's not too crowded so I can check it out.
MAD's lounge situation is already far superior to many places as far as oneworld goes. I hope I can snag one of those private alcoves!