• Home
  • About
    • Where has GhettoIFE gone?
    • For PR’s and Agencies (Changes and Corrections)
    • Privacy Policy
  • Snapshots
  • Trip Reports
  • Travel Plus…
    • … Technology
    • … Photography

Economy Class & Beyond

You are here: Home / Trips / Madrid - Wide Bodies / TRIP REPORT: Widebodies and Short Routes – IB3167 London Heathrow to Madrid – BUSINESS CLASS

TRIP REPORT: Widebodies and Short Routes – IB3167 London Heathrow to Madrid – BUSINESS CLASS

07/03/2019 by Kevincm

IB3167 London Heathrow to Madrid – BUSINESS CLASS
Widebodies and Short Routes

Widebodies and short routes header

  • Let’s do a challenge
  • Off to Heathrow
  • Points to be Made vs Economy Class and Beyond – Two idiots race across Heathrow
  • Heathrow Terminal 5 and The British Airways Galleries South Lounge
  • IB3167 London Heathrow to Madrid (BUSINESS CLASS)
  • Crowne Plaza Madrid Airport
  • Exploring a bit of Madrid
  • Back to Barajas and the Iberia Lounges
  • BA461 Madrid to London Heathrow (BUSINESS CLASS/BA FIRST)
  • To the trains!
  • Two sides of the IAG coin

IB6137 London Heathrow to Madrid Barajas
Iberia, Airbus A340-600, Seat 2A, Business Class (EuroBusiness)
773 Miles Flown, 0 Tier points earn, 0 Avios Earned (Redemption Seat)

We were both welcomed aboard and turned left to our seats. The crew welcomed us, inviting us to take any unoccupied seat.

IB3167

Why?

There were a total of six business class passengers expected for a cabin 40. With all six already now loaded.

Excuse the laughing from me.

We took this opportunity to look around the A340 business class cabin, which is in a 1-2-1 staggered configuration, with seating by Stelia Aerospace – and their Solstys seat.

I’ve played with Solstys for some years at aviation shows – but have never actually sat in one installed in a plane.

IB3167 IB3167
Row 1

IB3167 IB3167
Row 2 – my home.

IB3167
Aft cabin, looking towards Premium Economy

And – I was impressed.

The seats were pretty comfortable, with adequate room inside them. With the staggered 1-2-1 seating layout – it means that every seat is an aisle seat. That on a long haul flight (or a short-haul flight with a bit of moving around after the meal service) makes a major difference.

IB3167
A simple table design that doesn’t need two degrees to open.

IB3167
Seat control and IFE controller

Power outlets
Power, headphones and drink holder. 

In the seat, the reading materials were out as opposed to in the document pockets (mainly as they didn’t fit).

IB3167

IB3167

IB3167
IFE System interface (Panasonic)

IB3167
Document Pocket… and Tim reviewing this flight

With this my first A340 flight – it was time to read the safety card. It’s something I recommend you do when you get aboard a plane – but especially if you’re aboard a new type you haven’t been on before.

IB3167 IB3167 IB3167

In the seat pocket, I found a wireless access card. We’ll look at this later.

IB3167
Free Wi-Fi onboard? Let’s not get too hasty….

With the formalities out-of-the-way, I settled into to explore the plane and onboard systems. That and taking ridiculous photos of us trying to occupy as many seats as possible – mainly as the cabin was so empty.

It also helped the crew was in a playful mood.

With a 23-minute departure penalty, there was time to explore stuff – including anything of interest. I took a look at the Wi-Fi system (and quietly worried it would be the wonderful L-Band system that would be installed.

IB3167
Examining the IFE and the Wi-Fi Coverage. Some rather big blackspots…

IB3167
Bye Jetbridge!

Eventually, the seatbelt signs were switched on, and it was time to head off.

But first, there’s the safety video. Dual-Langauge safety videos by their nature are long… mainly as they have to communicate information twice.

IB3167

Iberia’s effort wasn’t too bad – it got the pertinent facts over in both languages at a reasonable pace – and without the over the top whimsy, some airlines engage in.

The plane eventually pushed back and begun its taxi around Heathrow Airport, finally lining up for a departure off Runway 27L.

IB3167IB3167 IB3167
Mood lit for take off

IB3167
Off we go!

IB3167
Japan Airlines Boeing 777-300ER

IB3167
Turning for the runway.

With a roar, the four enlarged hair dryers that power the Airbus A340-600 pushed IB3167 into the sky.

IB3167 IB3167

IB3167
I spy one of four engines powering IB3167

IB3167
All red in the cabin – that’s the IFE welcome screen at work

The crew was quick off the mark once we were airborne and the announcements were made – firstly with Internet access and 3 x 4mb Wi-fi access cards were offered.

IB3167

Ok, let’s get the pain of the Wi-Fi out-of-the-way. This aircraft was fitted out with SITA OnAir L Band connectivity.

Those who remember the Qatar Airways trip reports should run away fast. This is one of the slowest technologies out there to connect from the air to a satellite, then to ground for Internet connectivity.

IB3167 IB3167 IB3167
Such speed. So much wow. Oh who am I kidding?

And boy was it slow. 4mb was enough to refresh a Twitter feed, send a photo to Instagram, and attempt to do a speed test. I had to bust into a second card for that.

The speeds – as expected – were dismal, and shows that the age of L Band connectivity needs to pass fast as Ku and Ka becomes the norm

The meal service was offered straight away – a choice between a veal burger and cheese and nut pasta.

IB3167 IB3167

I went or the burger. Pretty much it was delivered straight away. Bubbly was offered in the form of a dry Cava.

IB3167
The tray

IB3167
The veal burger

IB3167
Cheese

IB3167
Salad

So the burger – this is more than a little different, to put it bluntly. But it was done well and presented with potatoes and other things. A sold if very different main meal.

The cheese plate didn’t appeal to me, nor did the yoghurt (an odd choice for an evening dessert). The salad was a lovely fresh item.

The crew was in a good mood and did their duty-free sales. And yes. I skipped the page of the Iberia A350 model (as I haven’t flown it… yet), but instead went for the Playmobile Flight attendant.

IB3167

This thing has mileage. Trust me…

With the transaction taking a few minutes (and me locking the pin on one of the cards I had), the crew were on their way again.

I debated getting a model plane – but logic prevailed. For once.

Let’s take a look at the IFE System. This again is the Panasonic IFE system, and very fluid to the touch. It could also be used with a remote in the seat.

IB3167
Map showing IB3167 flight path

Content seems varied – and beefed up from when I last flew Iberia.

a screen on a plane
TV Selection

IB3167
Bobs Burgers

IB3167
The Big Bang Theory.

IB3167

It’s unusual to see IFE activated on European flights, so this is welcome to see.

The plane continued going over the Bay of Biscay, with Santander coming into view. It also marked the beginning of the descent of the plane as it begun its approach to Madrid.

IB3167

Not wanting to hang around on the ground, I visited the small room in the front of the A340-600. And yes… It’s small.

IB3167
#Laviator

IB3167
Push… Push… PUUSSSSSHHHH!

I headed back to the seat, with Madrid coming into view

IB3167 IB3167 IB3167 IB3167 IB3167

In addition, the IFE System played an arrivals guide to Madrid. This is something I could had done with in the past when I’ve had to transit the hell of T4S, with a transit time of less than an hour from gate to gate.

IB3167

With ease, IB3167 made its final approach to Madrid Barajas, and landed safely.

IB3167

The plane peeled off the runway for a short taxi to T4S.

IB3167
Peeling off

IB3167
Iberia A330 parked up

IB3167
Parking next to another Iberia A340.

With a bong, the seatbelt signs were switched off, and we were free to move around the cabin. Tim and I gathered our items and headed for the exit.

IB3167

IB3167
IB3167’s OSD – With Salvador Dahi doing the work that day.

With the jetbridge attached, we thanked the crew and headed on our way.

Overall

A rather good performance with Iberia aboard IB3167. Service was personalised (which helps when you only have six passengers loaded on your premium cabin), and the crew were on point for the flight, topping up drinks and being generally engaging.

Yes. It’s a bit different to the usual Airbus A319/320/321 for the short-haul run… and the flight does run often with this kit (and will be back to Airbus A350 operation soon).

IB3167

But as a way to go from London to Madrid in comfort? Solidly recommended.

Tim from Points to be Made also has his review online from IB3167 if you want to compare our experiences.

Next: Into Barajas, and the Crown Plaza Madrid Airport.


Welcome to Economy Class and Beyond – Your no-nonsense guide to network news, honest reviews, with in-depth coverage, unique research as well as the humour and madness as I only know how to deliver.

Follow me on Twitter at @EconomyBeyond for the latest updates! You can also follow me on Instagram too!

Also remember that as well as being part of BoardingArea, we’re also part of BoardingArea.eu, delivering frequent flyer news, miles and points to the European reader.f

Related

Filed Under: Madrid - Wide Bodies, Trip, Trip Reports, Trips

  • Bluesky
  • Email
  • Instagram
  • Mastodon
  • RSS
  • Threads

Recent Posts

  • Last Week at Economy Class and Beyond (31st May)
  • Data Storage Adventures – With UGreen NASync DW4800 – Part 3: Build and Configuration
  • Royal Jordanian takes delivery of its first A320neo
  • Cathay Pacific introduces new ‘Chinese Classics’ dining offerings for Business class customers
  • Eurowings to introduce a Business Class Seat for Medium Haul Services

Email Newsletter

Sign up to receive email updates daily and to hear what's going on with us!

Privacy Policy
Copyright © Economy Class & Beyond All Rights Reserved.
Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Economy Class & Beyond with appropriate and specific directions to the original content.