I did a search on Iberia and found that alot of the posts were very negative!!! I am considering flying Iberia (Chicago-Madrid)this May. Are they really that bad??? I'd love to get some more opinons!! Thanks:)

I flew the ORD-MAD Dec 27th and MAD-ORD Jan 4th and I was pleasantly surprised. They fly the Airbus A340s and those planes are extremely quiet.The service was good and so was the food. The only complaint I have with Iberia is the way they load the planes. Although everyone has a seat assignment, they do not board by rows, starting from the back like most airlines do. So what usually happens is about 30 minutes before boarding, a queue start to form for boarding and first come first served. This tends to be a bit chaotic and if you don't fall in line early enough, all the luggage space may be taken. Also this system tends to delay the departure of the flight.

On the MAD-ORD trip, I actually sat beside a native Madrileno who has been flying Iberia for years and years. He admitted that there was a stretch of time when they were really bad. Apparently it has improved tremendously in the last 2 or 3 years. Just my 2 cents worth.

I actually had an Iberian flight WAIT for me and 2 friends at Chicago in the Fall of 1999 - our connecting flight on United was late. I've never had a bad experience on this airline and agree that the airbuses are comfortable and quiet. I won't hesitate to fly with them again.

I have flown Iberia many times, and although they could be a little friendlier at times, I have never had a problem with them. You can always count on extra bread during meals, plenty of newspapers, and the flight attendants are normally more or less attentive to you. I've never had the problem with boarding, though, from JFK at least they tend to board by rows like the other airlines. You may want to also check out Air Europa as well, they were cheaper, and the staff may have been a little nicer. (Although I don't know if they fly from Chicago...)

Buen viaje!

-GG

My experiences on the same flights from Chicago to Madrid and return have always been excellent, and the service in Chicago & Madrid was fine.

I'm not certain what the rap is against Iberia but I can't say I've encountered any difficulty or undue delays on this particular route.

As for speed of travel... think about this ... getting on a plane in Chicago and arriving in Madrid 7 1/2 hours later. That's fast from portal to portal. No plane changes, no lengthy delays in airports for connections -- or missing them -- and the trip back about 8 1/2 to 9 hours isn't bad either.

In all, it sure beats hanging around airports in various cities waiting for connecting flights, and wasting your valuable time.

Wolf

I've flown Iberia a number of times Boston - Madrid (actually JFK-Madrid) and have always had a good flight. Service is far better than on US airlines - thou I have found this true for almost all non-US airlines!) - flights have always been on-time - seems to be more leg-room, etc. Food better than expected. And - you can always find deals comprable to any other offers - that part is strictly a copy-cat game. And most imprtantly - you feel as if you are in Spain a few hours sooner!

I agree, Puna, as soon as I set foot on the plane at JFK, I feel like I'm in Spain. We can read El Pais or El Mundo, hear Spanish all around us (eventhough they do speak English too...), have some fairly decent Spanish-ish food, and get MAS PAN! What other country's airline would come around with trays of extra bread? (I know I 've mentioned this several times, I'm not obsessed with bread, just every time I see it, it makes me smile!)