Iberia Express Madrid to Tenerife North (MAD-TFN) Business Class: Flight Review

Route: Madrid to Tenerife North (MAD-TFN)

Airplane: Iberia Express A320

Cabin: Business Class (Eurpoe)

Iberia Express Business Class - map of flight

Booking

This flight was booked as a cash ticket, part of a round-trip itinerary that’s one-part vacation and one-part tier point run. All of our flights on this itinerary are being credited to our British Airways Executive club accounts. The next few flights will take us from British Airways Executive Club Bronze status to British Airways Executive Club Silver status. Here is the entire Tenerife Trip Report.

Iberia Express Business Class - Madrid Airport inside

Madrid Airport, Overview

It’s a pretty impressive airport with massive pylons and a 60+ foot ceilings. The pylons are painted in colors that change slightly throughout the terminal, helping signify the different gate letters. When you look down the terminal or across the airfield to other terminals, you can see rainbows. It’s impressive and easy to navigate. There’s a bit of wayfinding necessary and there’s plenty of signage to help (in addition to airport workers who can help). After our inbound flight from JFK landed 2 1/2 hours late, we were greeted by two Iberia agents who had new boarding passes for us. They also provided a $40 food credit voucher due to our missed connection. Luckily, we had already been protected on a later flight, and the Iberia agents had two new boarding passes for us.

We made our way through customs and to our terminal using the train system. Once inside the domestic terminal, we promptly found the Dalí Iberia Lounge. As we are planning on filing a travel insurance claims due to the missed connection, and subsequent late arrival to a different airport, we quickly took pictures of all the documentation the Iberia agents had given us.

We used our travel food voucher to buy a salad, soup, and 4 juices. Not all food vendors at MAD accept the voucher, so we asked around until we found the spot. There were not a lot of vegan options in our terminal H (J, K, and H are combined) in either the lounge or in the main terminal. This is why we always travel with food, just in case. All the same, we dispense with the $40, and the juice was really good.

Iberia Express Business Class - Madrid Airport gate

Boarding process on Iberia Express Business Class

The boarding process was reasonably straightforward. While there wasn’t a sign for boarding group 1, there were signs for each of the other groups. We deduced that the queue in front of the kiosk was likely other group 1 customers, so we queued with them. We boarded a few minutes after the posted boarding time.

Seat and service on Iberia Express Business Class

Upon boarding, there was plenty of overhead storage space in Business Class. The seat set up for European Business Class is different from that in North America. Rather than having two, large seats. They have three economy seats with the middle seat blocked. Since we easily fit in the sets, on flights less than 4 hours we often prefer this setup to North American first class big seats. We were able to store backpacks overhead and our personal carry-on bags could be stowed under the middle seat.

Iberia Express Business Class - A320 business class seats

Seat comfort and legroom on Iberia Express Business Class

Although short, I cramp easily and love and need to stretch out to retain physical comfort. The setup of Iberia Business Class enabled me to find comfort and stretch out. The seats weren’t overly comfortable aside from having sufficient space to wiggle. Since there was ample overhead storage, and an empty middle seat, there was a comfortable amount of leg room.

Food and drink service on Iberia Express Business Class

The food and drink service was very good although, as predicted, our vegan meal (VGML) request was not fulfilled. Because we had missed our original connection to Tenerife South due to a late arriving flight from JFK, our special meals were not loaded on our new flight. The flight attendants brought us plenty of vegan snacks - little crackers and marcona almonds - in addition to our beverages of choice. They were very kind about the special meals not being loaded, and offered to bring us more snacks on numerous occasions. I started with orange juice then graduated to red wine, which came in a mini bottle with an actual glass. This is to be expected in Business Class, but all the same, it’s still a delight. Joe had coffee, obviously.

Iberia Express Business Class - A320 business class service

Bathroom on Iberia Express Business Class

The bathroom was sufficiently sized and quite clean. There was lotion for post hand washing.

I did observe quite a bit of bathroom traffic on this flight and only ended up using the bathroom once at the beginning of the flight. I’m not sure about the condition of the bathroom at the end of the flight. At one point, there was a queue through the Business Class of folks standing, waiting, et cetera. There was a young man who appeared to have gotten sick several times throughout the course of the flight, but you never would have guessed it without witnessing the evidence of him toting his waste bag to the front to be disposed of. Both him and the crew dispatched of the waste readily and efficiently eliminating any corresponding odor that may have emanated.

Conclusion

I really enjoyed Madrid as an airport and hope someday they have vegan cuisine. The flight was pleasant with great service. Getting automatically booked on the later flight to Tenerife North (TFN) and being greeted with documentation and food vouchers was immensely helpful and provided peace of mind. That in addition to the great in-flight experience are the reasons we will continue to fly Iberia because the experience during travel has always been very good.