Kate's on a Plane

I flew Iberia business class on the new A321XLR from Boston to Madrid for 34,000 Avios in June of 2025. (You can read about how I booked this trip here.) Overall, I found this to be a really good value and a positive experience.

My ticket granted me access to the British Airways lounge, which had surprisingly good food! I don’t know why I had low expectations for this lounge, but I was pleasantly surprised to find an excellent green curry with tofu on the buffet.

Seats on this narrowbody aircraft are in a 1-1 configuration and are angled away from the window. I found a rolled-up mattress pad on the seat, which was useful for lumbar support when the seat was in the upright position. While the bulkhead seats are typically highly desirable, I’d advise against them on this particular aircraft; the space to enter and exit the seats in the first row looked uncomfortably narrow.

I’ve heard that the limited galley space on the A321XLR makes it difficult for flight attendants to deliver meal service, which seemed consistent with my experience. No pre-departure beverages were served, presumably because the flight attendants could not navigate the cabin with boarding passengers filling the single aisle. It took almost an hour for beverages to be served, with the meal service coming even a bit later than that. For passengers hoping to optimize sleep, this could be a real annoyance. This flight departed quite early, at 4:45pm, so I wasn’t ready for sleep anyway. 

The meal, once it arrived, was quite possibly the best part of the entire experience. I ordered a vegetarian meal and received a gorgeous and perfectly cooked platter of chickpeas, rice, and vegetables. I enjoyed it far more than I expected! Service was adequate, if not overly attentive or warm.

The cabin was a bit warm, but I found the seat very comfortable for sleeping. As a side sleeper, I had enough room to bend my knees. I probably slept for about two hours, and woke just as we were starting our initial descent (so sadly, I can’t report on breakfast). 

Overall, I found Iberia to be an economical and comfortable way to cross the pond in a lie-flat seat, and I look forward to booking it again!