Round The World and other travels

Flight Log: IB6403

Madrid (MAD) - Mexico City (MEX)

My first Iberia long-haul experience began in the recently refurbished Premium Lounge Velázquez at Terminal 4S of Madrid Barajas. This facility was worthy of the role that it played as the airline's flagship lounge at its home airport. The lounge was enormous, but also very busy indeed on the Saturday morning that we visited. I thought it looked stylish and modern, and I especially appreciated the huge picture windows and the tarmac views that they afforded. Connectivity looked fit for purpose in the 21st century, but best of all, the food and drink options appeared to be impressive. Not wishing to spoil our appetites for the flight itself, Bruce and I were content to focus on enjoying a Bloody Mary with some suitable nibbles.

In due course, we made our way to the gate. Boarding started early, but only to form a further queue in the airbridge, which thankfully was air-conditioned. I knew that the Business Class 'hard product' on our Airbus A340 would be of the 'staggered' type, but was surprised as I settled into 4L to find that it was almost identical to that on the Thai Airways flight that I had taken from London to Bangkok towards the end of the previous year. As I got settled in, an announcement was made giving the expected flight time as 12 hours. It went on to explain that as the aircraft was refuelling, seat belts should be left unfastened (standard procedure) and aisles must be kept clear of blockages (never actually heard that one before, but it sounded like a good idea). It certainly explained the lack of any significant pre-departure service in the Business cabin. Newpapers, headsets and amenity kits were handed out, but this probably didn't cause any blockages.

The seat belt signs came on at 1252 and as suspected, this was also the signal for pre-departure drinks. The choice was Cava or orange juice and I had the former. We pushed back ten minutes down on the schedule and took off another ten minutes after that (1320), from north-facing runway 36L. In due course, service resumed with the distribution of immigration forms. Meanwhile, I got myself comfortable and started up my first movie of the flight, Ocean's 8.

As we crossed the coast and left the European mainland behind, cabin service progressed apace, with the arrival of menu booklets, duty-free brochures, hot towels and tablecloths. I was soon enjoying a glass of Tio Pepe Fino, attractively served with some ice water and a little tray of juicy olives - yummy!

The lunch menu was as follows:

My first choice of fish was no longer available, but I was happy enough to order the chicken instead. Service was interrupted for a while after that, with multiple iterations of seat belt signs on / turbulence / seat belt signs off / repeat. A little later than expected, a pleasingly presentable meal tray was delivered, complete with a glass of the white Rioja (Lar de Paula). The main course was added when appropriate, and after the tray had been cleared (at which point I had retained my cheese plate), the dessert plate was served directly onto the tablecloth. A similar delivery style was used for the coffee and after-dinner drinks service. My request for the listed single-malt met with disappointment as it hadn't been loaded on this flight, so I opted for the Chivas Regal instead.

With all this out of the way and feeling satisfied and happy, I closed my window shades and settled down for a bit of rest.

*          *          *          *          *

On waking up, I realised with something less than delight that the flight was still only 40% done; my snooze had been considerably shorter than intended. Further realising that I wasn't likely to sleep again in the short term, I fired up my second movie choice, Bohemian Rhapsody. More than two hours later, with 2,000 miles still to run, I segued into Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again; if nothing else, the title seemed appropriate.

With 90mins to go, a round of hot towels marked the start of the second meal service.

This seemed quintessentially Spanish and was nicely complemented by a glass of the (red) Rioja.

We made the standard approach into MEX, right over the huge conurbation, touching down at 1808 local time. Arrival at the gate came 12 minutes later, making us 15 minutes behind schedule. This was my first long-haul experience with Iberia and despite the slightly late arrival, I felt well satisfied. It struck me that the airline seemed to be doing well under IAG ownership.

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