Iberia receives its first A350-900 aircraft – test flights from Heathrow to Madrid still bookable

Iberia received its first A350-900 aircraft on Tuesday.  This is the first of 16 aircraft due for delivery between now and 2021 which will revolutionise Iberia’s long-haul offering.

Iberia will receive two A350-900s this year, three in 2019, six in 2020 and the last five in 2021.  This follows on from 20 new A330 aircraft which have arrived in recent years.

It is advertised as “the quietest plane on the market” and has a range of 14,800km.  Fuel burn is 25% lower than similar older aircraft models as 70% of the structure consists of modern lightweight materials such as carbon fibre, fibre-glass, titanium, and aluminium alloys.  The engines are from Rolls-Royce and will hopefully prove more reliable than the Boeing 787-9 versions.

There are 348 seats on each plane – 31 in Business Class, 24 in Premium Economy and 293 in Economy.  Wi-fi will be available.

The Business Class cabin is a more advanced version of the existing Iberia fully-flat seat, with larger screens (18 inches), more leg room and additional personal storage space, as well as an adjustable reading lamp.

You can try it out

In order to get the cabin and flight crews familiar with the aircraft, they will be flying selected Heathrow to Madrid rotations.

The first flight is scheduled for 20th July, with the aircraft moving onto the Madrid – New York JFK route from 4th August.

I am already booked on one for late July and, as long as there is no last minute switch, I look forward to reporting on how the new Business Class seat looks.

If you want to do the same, don’t look on ba.com because they are still showing an A340 as the operating aircraft.  Look at iberia.com.  Even there, the inbound flight from London seems to show an A340 but the matching outbound plane from Madrid will show as an A350.

These flights are easy to book with Avios, and indeed cancellable Avios is preferable if you are worried about an aircraft switch.  For cargo reasons, however, the aircraft is highly likely to remain a flat bed long haul one even if the A350 is switched out.

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How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (March 2025)

As a reminder, there are various ways of earning Avios points from UK credit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses!

In February 2022, Barclaycard launched two exciting new Barclaycard Avios Mastercard cards with a bonus of up to 25,000 Avios. You can apply here.

You qualify for the bonus on these cards even if you have a British Airways American Express card:

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There are two official British Airways American Express cards with attractive sign-up bonuses:

British Airways American Express Premium Plus

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British Airways American Express

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You can also get generous sign-up bonuses by applying for American Express cards which earn Membership Rewards points. These points convert at 1:1 into Avios.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on the ‘free for a year’ American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card is increased from 20,000 Membership Rewards points to 30,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (30,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

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The Platinum Card from American Express

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There is also a British Airways American Express card for small businesses:

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There are also generous bonuses on the two American Express Business cards, with the points converting at 1:1 into Avios. These cards are open to sole traders as well as limited companies.

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Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Avios. This includes both personal and small business cards.