Iberia business class review – A321XLR from Madrid to Boston
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This is our review of business class on Iberia’s new Airbus A321XLR.
Iberia is the latest airline to introduce long haul services with single-aisle aircraft thanks to the new Airbus A321XLR. Iberia is the first airline to fly this particular variant, having taken delivery of it in late 2024: sister airline Aer Lingus has also started operating it on flights to North America.
As we’ve outlined before, the experience is not quite what you might expect when flying from one continent to another: instead of a ‘big’ plane with two aisles, you’re on a smaller one with just one aisle. The same aircraft, in fact, as you would be on for flights of two to three hours.
Airlines such as Aer Lingus, JetBlue and TAP Portugal have been doing this for a couple of years with the A321LR, which has a slightly shorter range. The A321XLR opens up longer flights of up to 11 hours and therefore deeper into North America.
At Iberia, it is being used to operate routes that might otherwise only be seasonal. In this case, Boston would normally be a summer-only route but can now operate year round thanks to the A321XLR, which allows Iberia to step down capacity during the quieter winter months.
Iberia provided my ticket for review purposes. You can check timings and prices, and book, on the Iberia website here.
Check-in and ground experience
My journey started in Iberia’s beautiful Terminal 4 building at Madrid Airport, designed by Richard Rogers. It is probably the most beautiful airport terminal in the world (at least it’s my favourite!) with a beautiful undulating roof and a colourful gradient of steel structure, although you can end up with some long walks.
My flight was Monday at midday and I was surprised to find the airport the busiest I have ever seen it; perhaps as this was the first week back to work after the Spanish Christmas celebrations on 6th January. I was surprised to find queues even for business class check in:
Fortunately, I was travelling light and had already checked in online. I could skip this entirely and head straight through security. In my 10+ trips to Madrid I have never seen it so busy so it is very much not the norm.
International departures to non-Schengen destinations, which includes the USA and UK, depart from the T4S satellite terminal which requires you to jump on the air train. Fortunately, Iberia has a nice lounge in T4S called the Velázquez lounge which we reviewed here.
Onboard Iberia’s first A321XLR
Normally I am the first to board when I’m writing a review so that I can get photos of an empty cabin. As a normal passenger however, I prefer to board later. This is even more applicable on the XLR as all passengers must file past you to get to their seat. With just one aisle (and a lot of bags and coats, especially in winter) the boarding process can take some time.
It’s because of this (and partly, I suspect, because the galleys are very small in this configuration) that Iberia does not serve a pre-departure drink to business class passengers, which is a shame.
Let’s take a look at the cabin itself. Some photographs below are from my private tour of the same aircraft in November, just after it was delivered, when I had more time to get the images I wanted.
Internally, Iberia has opted for a two-class layout with a total of 182 seats. That includes 14 business class seats (seven rows) in a 1-1 configuration:
Although the seat looks consistent with its new A350 business class seat, it’s actually new for Iberia. You can’t just stick any lie-flat business class seat on the A321: due to the different fuselage width versus a widebody it needs to be specially designed.
In this case, Iberia has gone for the Thompson VantageSOLO, the same seat that JetBlue also uses to fly its transatlantic services.
It’s definitely got the same blood running through its veins as the A350 Next seat Iberia introduced in 2023. That means a surprising amount of warm greys, with the odd splash of red inside storage units and on the inflight entertainment screens.
The wood effect side console table helps break up the grey, as do the colour-changing overhead LEDs which cast it in a pink glow on boarding.
Iberia has decided not to install doors on this seat. I have no issue with that, as I find doors most useful when your body or head is close to the aisle. In this case, your head is by the window and your feet are near the aisle so there is no real benefit in my view.
The seats remain private and you don’t make awkward eye contact with anyone across the aisle. The cabin was full in the photo above, but you can’t see anyone.
There’s a surprising amount of storage in the seat, although I notice that Iberia has not opted for JetBlue’s excellent laptop drawer which I loved. A lot of it is open storage, including under the ottoman (perfect for shoes or rucksack):
Next to your elbow is both an open area and a closed storage compartment:
The aircraft also comes with the Airbus XL bins as standard which provide 60% more luggage space. You’ll have more than enough room for your belongings – I had an entire bin to myself.
A large tray table pops out from within the side console. I was pleased to see it was adjustable forwards and backwards, as some of the older seats with this mechanism are not.
If you’re someone who hates foot cubbies then despair not, as this seat has one of the widest and most generous I’ve seen in a while.
There is a surprising amount of space at shoulder level thanks to this big cut out:
….and here, in fully flat:
One thing I did notice is a surprising amount of motion transference when people walked past my seat, far more than I would expect on a widebody.
You’ll be pleased to know that overhead air vents have been retained. This is something you find less and less of on widebody jets these days but can be a real lifesaver when the crew decide to turn the cabin into Death Valley.
Unlike JetBlue, Iberia has decided not to offer an extra spacious ‘business plus’ front row. In fact, Row 1 may be the most uncomfortable seat in the cabin. Although it has an additional, large console table the entry and exit into the seat is very narrow – much narrower than the other seats. Even I struggled to get in and out, and whilst I’m tall I’m not big!
There is a single dedicated toilet for the 14 business class passengers. This seemed fine on the day flight; it was unoccupied when I needed it and I didn’t have to queue.
Inflight entertainment and wifi
There is, of course, an 18″ flip-out inflight entertainment screen provided by Panasonic, very responsive and loaded up with content ready for the long haul flights it starts today. You can even adjust the vertical alignment – perfect for watching something in bed:
The screens must be in the folded position (above) for take-off and landing so whilst in theory you can make the most of ‘gate to gate’ entertainment, it’s not the best viewing angle.
You can connect your own Bluetooth headphones or use the wired ones provided. USB-A, USB-C and mains sockets are easily accessible, although I was surprised to find no wireless charging pad.
The quality of the supplied headphones were not particularly good so I immediately switched to my AirPods, which were easily paired to the Bluetooth and offered noise cancellation.
There was a substantial library of content. The screen defaults to showing you only ‘Iberia Recommends’ rather than the whole catalogue, so make sure to click through to see the entire gamut of films available – there’s more than you think. In the end, I watched Money Ball and the first few episodes of the second season of House of the Dragon, which Iberia had in its entirety.
In terms of wifi, messaging is free for Iberia Plus members but all other usage is chargeable. Packages were available for an hour, four hours or the whole flight. Here are some of the options:
- Browse and Stream – four hours – €13.49
- Browse and Stream – flight pass – €16.99
- Messaging – one hour – €3.49
- Messaging – flight pass – €5.99
There is absolutely no point paying for the Messaging package as you can simply sign up to Iberia Plus to get it for free.
I signed up for the full-flight browsing package which did a good job with social media and general browsing, although I didn’t push it to stream. At one point it seemed to stop working but I fixed the issue simply by turning off wifi and turning it back on again and reconnecting, which did the trick.
Iberia bedding and amenities
Waiting at my seat were several items. On the seat was a large white pillow, a multifunctional mattress pad roll that could also be used as a pillow and a blanket.
Meanwhile, an amenity kit and water bottle were in the storage area. This is a new design from the old one in collaboration with Teresa Helbig and is inspired by the new Iberia cabin crew uniforms which are very smart. Inside, you’ll find a funky eye mask, dental kit, ear plugs, Uvas Frescas hand cream and lip balm as well as what look like compression socks.
I decided to make my bed and have a little nap after lunch and found the seat very comfortable. The mattress protector, whilst thin, does a good job of attaching to the headrest and staying in place so that was good.
In general, I found the seat more comfortable to sleep in than expected; the relatively large, open foot cubby was nice and I had more room at shoulder level than it initially appeared.
Iberia food and service
Shortly after takeoff, crew came around offering hot towels.
The food service has been modified for the XLR. I am told you still get the same physical meals but the way it is served is slightly different to what you would get on a widebody, where there is more space. The service is relatively leisurely, although as this is a day flight this didn’t bother me.
As mentioned above, there is no pre-departure drink which is a shame. The first drink you get is after take-off, which is served with a tapas amuse bouche, in this case jamon iberico, chorizo and cheese with crackers:
Champagne is not available on board but you do get cava, which I prefer over prosecco. The crew give a very heavy pour and the real stemware is a pleasant touch.
The starter and main course are served on a single tray. For starters, there was a choice of:
- Roast beef served with sweetcorn, red peppers, tomatoes and a creamy avocado tartare
- Buffalo Mozzarella accompanied with roasted aubergines, artichokes, olive tapenade and sun-dried tomatoes
Whilst, for mains:
- Pan-seared chicken breast in a spiced tomato sauce served with saffron-infused cous cous, sauteed spinach and toasted almonds
- Grilled salmon on bearnaise mashed potatoes with roasted tomatoes and tender garlic sprouts
- Handmade capellacci pasta filled with ricotta cheese in a truffle panna sauce with parmesan cheese and green asparagus
Iberia makes its menu available online far in advance of departure so you can see what you are getting. It appears to offer a pre-booking service although I decided to be spontaneous! I had the roast beef and chicken breast:
Dessert was then served as a separate course with the following options:
- Homemade tocinillo de cielo (a rich sugar and egg yolk tart)
- Double chocolate ice cream served with chocolate chips and raspberries
- Selection of spanish cheese with guava paste and grapes
I went for the local option, which was sublime:
Tea and coffee was offered afterwards, with a small 70% cacao chocolate as well.
There is a second meal service about two hours prior to landing, but if you’re feeling peckish then snacks such as crisps or chocolate bars are available from the crew. For me, however, the flight is simply too short to get hungry in between meals.
Before landing, you get a choice of two options:
- Spanish potato omelette served with cheese and Almagro aubergine on a romesco cream
- Homemade oxtail pie accompanied with roasted red pepper piperade
The portions here are quite small – just one slim dish – but that was fine by me as I had just had a big lunch a few hours prior. I was expecting the omelette to be served hot but alas, it is cold:
The two crew looking after the business class cabin were friendly throughout the flight and happy to help.
Conclusion
It’s an exciting time for Iberia as it introduces not just a new aircraft type but also a brand new business class cabin on the A321XLR.
I’m pleased to say I was very comfortable in the seat, and found it less narrow than I was worried it would be. Particularly in bed mode it seemed spacious enough, with more room than expected at shoulder and knee level.
Iberia has had to compromise slightly when it comes to the inflight service. The lack of pre-departure drink is disappointing although I can see why it went that way. One of the problems with being one of Europe’s most punctual airlines is that it doesn’t leave a lot of time on the ground between completing boarding and take-off, although I suspect limited onboard storage is also an issue.
It’s also a shame that the starter and main come as one tray. I see no reason why crew can’t serve these separately – it certainly seemed possible, in terms of time and crew time, to make this work. Perhaps this will evolve as the new service settles in and Iberia gets a feel for what works and what doesn’t.
Of course, this is all a bit academic. Iberia is operating the XLR on routes it would otherwise only fly seasonally. From that perspective, the benefit of being able to fly direct from Madrid is surely is worth the small sacrifice in service.
Iberia is now flying the A321XLR to Boston and will launch flights to Washington DC in the coming months. Don’t forget that Iberia is an excellent option for low-cost Avios redemptions and you can even use your BA Amex 2-4-1 companion voucher to save even more.
You can check times and pricing, and book, on the Iberia website here.

Head for Points made a financial contribution to the Woodland Trust as part of this trip. The Woodland Trust creates and manages forests in the UK in accordance with the Woodland Carbon Code.
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