We just returned from Madrid on 5/30. Although our vacation was excellent, the flight to and fro was a nightmare. We flew Iberia Air, a Spanish airline affiliated with American Airlines. The trip over wasn't so bad but the seating on these planes is unbelievable! There are at least 5 too many rows of seats. I measured the distance from the arm of my seat to the back of the seat in front of me and the distance was less than 6 inches! Way too cramped for an 8 hour flight! The flight attendants are bad too. They should be called flight inattendants. After serving the scheduled lunches, you never see them again. If you call them to your seat, they don't respond and they'll tell you, if you want anything else, you have to get up and walk to the back of the plane to get it. The return from Madrid was a nightmare. Iberia, unlike most airlines allows passengers to guarantee their seats up to 24 hours in advance. So, although we arrived at the airport 2 hrs. early for our 12:30 flight, they had no seats for us. They had oversold the flight and about 20 people with tickets were unable to fly. We got bumped to a flight leaving at 4:55pm which put us home 26 hours after waking up that morning. So, please take this advice and do NOT fly Iberia. Iberia left a black stain on the memory of my first experience in Spain. Spend a few extra dollars and save yourself a fortune in misery!

I've heard horror stories concerning Iberia. Becuase of this I have tried not to fly theri airlines at all. SOrry for your luck.

Hi Yesca,

I've never flown with Iberia so I can't tell you much about it. Next month I will try their incredible offers which are even cheaper than trains for domestic flights.

As for the overbooking you may have the same problem with all the airlines. Overbooking is *legal* (at least in Europe), although I consider it to be unfair.

They say they overbook to avoid people who book and then cancel their reservations in the last minute.

This also happens with my customers at my hostal so and sometimes I think I should overbook also to avoid this problem.

Regards,

Antonio

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The best tips from your favourite hostal in Madrid.
Hostal Chelo at http://www.chelo.com

Hi Yesca and group!

So sorry to hear about your experience on Iberia, but I think that by now EVERYONE has heard similiar stories. What a shame!!

I flew from Madrid to the USA last spring on SpanAir (one of the biggest international competitors of Iberia) and found it to fine, average, nothing spectacular, but did find the attendants to be a bit cold. I don't attribute this so much towards rudeness as I do to the difference in cultures and the difference in expectations that many people in the world (particularly those of us in/from the USA) have for quality of service.

We Americans typically have over-the-top expectations with many services, expect more than we pay for, get whatever we can get for free, get/require/demand discounts, get it all for almost nothing sometimes. I do think that services and airlines have to draw the line somewhere and wish there would be more standardizations in the flight industry. BUT, how do you standardize hundreds of countries?

Maybe it's the differences that make a country great, good or bad, better or worse, just different. Different countries have different rules and while many of us "Americans" are spoiled, I think a smile every now and then, even an obvious false one, could go a long way in the airline business.

My two cents,

MadridMan (on vacation)

We, too, had a bad experience in February 2000 with both Iberia and American airlines. Other members of my group were ready to lynch the airline staffs! My story is too long to post. The stewards on Iberia acted as if they hated us and they hated the job. The poor inexperienced clerk who booked our seat in Madrid split our group in an inappropriate manner, then processed our luggage, which was lost, to the address of one single person. Only the head person in charge of the stewards was able to help us in a kind manner on Iberia.

American Airlines refused to board us on the domestic portion of our return flight. They had overbooked, and only let us on once the other people did not show up. They lost our luggage by mixing up two entire plane loads!

Did you notice the poor air quality on Iberia? When I and one of my fellow travelers started to fall asleep, we got terrible chest pains. I think there was a shortage of oxygen, which is not that uncommon on airlines.

British Airways is the best! Even the bathroom on the airplane is like a palace.
They get you to Spain in comfort and style.

Has any one bothered to take this up with Iberia?
Come-on Madrid-Man - have some clout and expose this>

Hi Lea! I'm afraid my "suggestions" would fall on deaf ears. And plus, I think Iberia's problems are well-known and many share the same attitude towards them. I suspect that they'll undergo a total overhaul sometime soon. At least I hope so.

Saludos, MadridMan

[This message has been edited by MadridMan (edited 06-05-2000).]

A few postings above, I wrote how wonderful British Airways was for travel to Spain.

As I surf the internet, I find a web page dedicated to telling how horrible British Airways is.

Oh well, they seemed real nice on the four flights we took back in 1998.

How does anyone affort First Class? Is that a "perk" for business travelers?

Air France has always had the best rates for me to Madrid. I have gone 4 times and always got a fare 600.00 or cheaper, i guess you just have to book them at the right time.

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I have found that U.S. Air offers competitive rates also. They fly out of Philadelphia non-stop to Madrid daily.