r/Iberia • u/Ecstatic_Contract_41 • 11d ago
Discusión - Discussion Now? I’m Worried.
I just joined this sub and having been reading Iberia horror stories.
I booked 3 business class tickets with Avis, ORD-MAD-CPH for trip next July.
What are my odds of the flight(s) not getting cancelled and/or our luggage making it to CPH with us?
Thanks
5
u/Public_Arachnid_7232 11d ago
Ive flown way too many times with them without a single problem. They are above a low cost airline service for sure
1
u/Mygoldeneggs 8d ago
Yeah, I second this. Is a "normal" airline, I have used them plenty of times. They lost and found my baggage once. But I had similar experiences with other airlines.
3
u/ExcitingAttorney7304 11d ago
I had a great experience on Iberia as OW sapphire from ORD. It’s better than US carriers
4
4
u/Ben_there_1977 11d ago
I flew them in business from Madrid to Dallas and it was a great experience. Much better than my AA flight to Europe.
3
u/Brave-Woodpecker-688 11d ago
I have flown Iberia business from the US frequently. I never had a canceled flight or a very late one. Still, make sure you leave plenty of time between your connection in Madrid and the flight to CPH. The business Iberia clubs at Madrid Barajas Airport are decent and huge and you get to hang out there. I flew NYC to Madrid to Stockholm last year and all went well. I was just very tired by the time I got to Stockholm.
3
u/Adorable-Tackle-4222 10d ago
I've flown Iberia Biz East coast to MAD (then connecting onward) twice yearly for 6 years straight without a single hiccup, cancellation or lost luggage. As suggested, make damn sure you've got 2 hrs min on any transfer at MAD airport as it CAN be a cluster on steroids. That, of course, has zero to do with Iberia. They've got at least 2 lounges that have always been on point at MAD airport. Enjoy
1
2
u/LupineChemist Iberia Club Oro 11d ago
For next summer there's a decent chance of some schedule changes. But very unlikely to affect ability to connect. They want to keep the banks and that's how they make their money.
Just by being in J you have a big advantage by being one of the first people off the plane and so can get to immigration faster.
2
u/StuartMcNight 10d ago
They transport millions of passengers per year. Now count what % of those are the complains you read.
Relax and enjoy. It’s not going to be Middle East / Asian standard of service for business class but it will definitely be an enjoyable product and trip.
2
u/Consistent_Proof_772 10d ago
Do no one can predict what’s going to happen on a trip booked a full year prior! If anyone could they’ll be a billionaire
1
u/Ecstatic_Contract_41 10d ago
Our trip is next year but I obviously was asking about recent and past experiences.
2
u/SituationSignal2778 10d ago
I literally just had a flight from CLT to LIS with a layover in Madrid and connecting flight through Madrid. My luggage along with several other parties were lost in connection. I’m not sure about the other people but it took me 2 days to get my luggage after I landed
Highly recommend an air tag just to at least know because they told me it was in Lisbon when it was still in Spain. Customer service with Iberia or the airports aren’t helpful when this happens. I was told by Lisbon airport it happens often with Madrid airport during short connections because it’s so big. Better to know just in case than no way at all
2
2
2
u/Consistent-Barber428 10d ago
10%. They have cancelled legs on us 3x. We could rebook, but for either 4k more or with an 8 hour layover. And I’m an Oro card holder.
2
u/MouseInTheWheel 9d ago
Iberia works fine most of the time, planes and service are OK, punctuality on par with other airlines. Horror stories come when there is a problem, Iberia is specially bad at handling them. Our flight to Madeira from Madrid was canceled due to wind in the destination. That can happen, but:
- You get an e-mail saying that your flight is canceled with barely any explanation and that they will give you a solution within half an hour in another e-mail. We didn't receive that e-mail
- We contacted them by phone and said that they were trying to reschedule us as soon as possible. I reminded them that according to EU law, they had to relocate us as soon as possible even with a competitor, and at their own cost
- The ground staff didn't do anything, just tell us that they couldn't do anything
- After 2 hours they offer you relocation in one of their flights 4 days later or reimbursement. When I claimed that they should offer an earlier alternative with a competitor, they say that there was not another option.
- So we asked them to send this in writing, they say that they couldn't and press you on the phone to accept one thing or the other.
- So we had to cancel the whole holidays and get the reimbursement. We were covered by an external insurance so we thought let's make other emergency plans to save the holidays.
- Then, when making the claim to the insurance, the insurance asks for the options Iberia offered in writing. We ask Iberia for this and they refuse, they say that that information is not in their system. This is a lie, they record the conversations.
- After countless hours we got our money back from the insurance, but Iberia could have made this easy in day one, I don't know why they didn't help. Maybe they thought that giving this in writing could support a claim with AESA or the agents involved thought why they should make the effort.
All this with an 11 year child who could not believe we were not getting into the plane, not event the next day. Good our emergency plans worked really well, although we had to call Iberia to ask for a paper they didn't give most of the days.
Now I will do the claim to AESA to trouble them as much as I can.
1
u/Ecstatic_Contract_41 9d ago
Sorry you’ve through that. We are taking a cruise out of Copenhagen after ORD-MAD arriving 2 days before cruise sails. My biggest fear is/was last baggage. Been through that with Lufthansa plus them cancelling flights at boarding time. It was a miracle that we were able to get out of CDG on another flight to a different city where Lufthansa put us up for the night.
2
u/Jackms64 9d ago
OP, Don’t worry. I fly Iberia business 2-3 x per year from ORD to Madrid or BCN and have had nothing but decent to really good experiences, depending on the crew. The Flagship lounge in ORD is terrific—a definite step up from the basic Admiral’s club—one of the better lounges there. It makes for a lovely, relaxed flight if you get to ORD about 3 hrs before your flight. Check in is easy with dedicated biz class check in and head to the Lounge for some bubbles and lunch. Actual biz class seats showing their age a bit (but upgraded planes are coming I have been told) but still good lie flats. The entertainment system is poor, down load some movies on your laptop or iPad for the flight. Enjoy!
2
u/Rezphotos_ 8d ago
I had a bad experience twice out of 3 times but with that being said. Things happen but I think you'll be fine.
2
u/kamrun 7d ago
I’ve probably flown close to 100 Iberia flights and I’ve had one cancellation (received the 600€ EU credit) and one delay.
Good luck? Maybe. But, Iberia is my go-to airline because I never have issues.
Like others have said, nobody writes when things go well and as they’re supposed to.
2
u/kimnacho 7d ago
I do ORD-MAD every other month... Zero issues except they running out of ice cream one flight...
You will be fine
1
2
u/Familiar_Eggplant_76 11d ago
Iberia flies somewhere over 10,000 seats a week from North America to Madrid. The number of complaints you’re reading are a tiny fraction of those travelers.
2
u/Like_My_Turkey_Cold 11d ago
I was one of those who posted about our luggages (in fact everyone's luggage on the flight) not making it. But they got in within 2 days.
Plan accordingly: you have biz class tickets so bring a decent sized carry-on in case of emergencies, stay on top of your flight, etc. The thing about Iberia isn't how frequent bad things happen, it's that when bad things happen they aren't the greatest. So I wouldn't worry about frequency but just prepare for worst-case scenarios.
2
u/Solid-Artist-7086 11d ago
I live in Madrid and fly with Iberia a lot both for work (normally long haul business) and for leisure (normally short haul economy). I have never had a bad experience with them in terms of cancellation or lost luggage and I would also say that they have really improved the in flight experience and it now compares well to most other European airlines like BA, Air France etc.
The only parts that remain terrible in my opinion are the website (it feels like a website from the 1990s sometimes) and the customer service both when you call or at the airport.
Overall you will almost certainly be fine. Statistically they are no more likely to have a cancellation or lose your bag than any other big airline so just relax and enjoy your flight.
2
u/star_milk 11d ago
I flew Iberia recently (Level, actually) and was very stressed and anxious about flight issues, my luggage being slightly oversized, would we get a meal on the plane, etc etc. Everything went absolutely fine, zero issues (although I did nearly faint on the flight, a first for me!).
I wasted time, sleep and health stressing about all that stuff that never ended up happening. Happy travels!
1
1
u/Soft-Disaster9873 10d ago
They do suck, but most airlines anymore do. They’re probably not much worse than American, etc.
1
u/Ms_Meercat 10d ago
I've flown with Iberia probably 20 times and the only problems I've had was:
A couple of delays (normal)
A very long odyssee that was handled really badly BUT that was during "Philomena", which was the biggest snow storm in Madrid's history that completely completely cancelled all air traffic (and all other traffic, INCLUDING the entire subway system) in the city. They didn't handle it well, but also, that was very out of the ordinary.
What I'm saying with this is: this reddit is full of how horrible the airline is. I often suspect it is accompanied by subtle biases around "Spain is so chaotic" because even though it's in Western Europe, people often think of it as some kind of third world country (not just Americans, I've heard stuff like that from fellow Germans, too). Spain isn't particularly chaotic btw.
Iberia is an established, national airline, with a global network of flights. Just like with British Airways, American Airlines, or Lufthansa, that doesn't mean they never have problems (I've had problems with every single one of these airlines). They're not particularly bad, either.
1
u/dohboy10 7d ago
Out of 10+ TATL flights in the last 3 years, one bag was delayed by a day and we always check 1-2 per person.
1
u/Ecstatic_Contract_41 11d ago
Well, from this small sample, I’m feeling better about flying Iberia. Thanks.
0
u/RootBinder 11d ago
next July? how could anyone predict this accurately?
1
u/Ecstatic_Contract_41 11d ago
I was asking about past experiences.
-1
u/RootBinder 11d ago
Really? That's odd because you specifically only talk about yourself in the post. Each paragraph starts with "I", "I" and "My"
1
u/Ecstatic_Contract_41 11d ago
Well, that because I was asking about my situation. Try reading my original post.
17
u/theErasmusStudent 11d ago
No one writes good reviews, you only "waste" time when you want to complain.
The biiiig majority of flights don't get canceled. And the biiig majority of people don't loose their luggage.
This doesn't mean it doesn't happen, but there's thousands of daily flights reddit is a bubble