Review: Iberia Express short haul business class from London Gatwick to Madrid

This is our review of business class on Iberia Express.

Iberia Express operates from three cities in the UK. It was 2017 when we last had a look at it, so a trip to Madrid seemed like a good excuse.

On the way back I flew in flat bed business class on an Iberia A330-200 – an article on that will follow. Unsurprisingly, it was better!

What is Iberia Express?

The airline has its own website which is here.

Based in Madrid, Iberia Express styles itself as a low-cost carrier which provides ‘feed’ to Iberia’s mainline operation.  The aim is primarily to offer connecting services from/to Madrid to/from airports which would not support a ‘full service’ short-haul flight.

(Vueling, the other low cost Spanish carrier owned by IAG, primarily operates from Barcelona.)

It flies to 40 destinations in 15 countries with a fleet of Airbus A320 and A321neo aircraft.

Of course, as part of Iberia, Iberia Express is NOT a genuine low-cost airline:

• It offers connecting flights, including through-checked baggage, to Iberia

• You can earn Avios in Iberia Club when you fly with Iberia Express

• The flights operate as codeshares with other airlines

• It offers lounge access, fast track security and priority boarding on ‘business’ tickets, as you will see

Perhaps surprisingly, Iberia Express is the most punctual airline in Europe and the most punctual low cost airline in the world.

From the UK ….

From the UK, Iberia Express operates:

• London Gatwick to Madrid
• Edinburgh to Madrid
• Manchester to Madrid

It has operated from Heathrow to Madrid and other parts of Spain in the past, as well as to Madrid from Cardiff, Birmingham and Newcastle, but the UK has been cut back in recent years.

My flight on Iberia Express

I flew Iberia Express from London Gatwick to Madrid last week.

I booked a one-way business class flight via ba.com for 12,750 Avios plus £57 of taxes and charges.  This increases to 15,000 Avios on a peak date. The taxes figure outbound is inflated by Air Passenger Duty – the return leg would only have been £24.

Iberia Express uses the South Terminal at London Gatwick, alongside British Airways.

I was only travelling with hand baggage. Note that, according to the comments below, Iberia Express uses its own check in desks at Gatwick – you cannot use the BA area. The desks appear to open quite late so don’t arrive three hours before departure. There is a dedicated business class desk.

I got Fast Track security access with my ticket and was allowed into the huge British Airways lounge complex. The BA lounges at Gatwick are excellent – our last review of the British Airways Gatwick lounges is here.

I boarded from what appeared to be the furthest possible gate at Gatwick! Boarding had begun by the time I eventually reached it but I walked up to the desk and was allowed to board immediately with my ‘Group 1’ pass.

Iberia Express business class seating

There were three rows of business class on my A320-200. The cabin was surprisingly busy with the majority of seats taken.

The set-up is familiar from British Airways Club Europe – a 3×3 configuration with the middle seat kept empty.

There is no tray table, unfortunately.

I booked a Row 1 bulkhead seat, as I usually do because I value the extra legroom.

Was I in for a surprise ….

Legroom at the bulkhead was tight, at least compared to British Airways Club Europe. My seat mate commented on it too. This is how it was:

Business class food and drink on Iberia Express

You can find food and drink information on this page of the Iberia Express website.

It says (for European, not domestic, flights):

• Breakfast on flights scheduled to depart before 11.00: fresh fruit, a delicious egg omelet and a garnish of fresh vegetables. Selection of freshly baked breads and pastries, juice, coffee and infusions.

• Lunch / dinner on flights scheduled to depart after 11.00: starter, hot main (premium meat and fish or fresh pasta made daily), bread selection, homemade dessert, a delicious piece of chocolate, and coffee and tea.

I was on the lunch menu.

The crew started off with a glass of orange juice or water, and then followed up with a full drinks run. Unsurprisingly, Spanish cava is provided instead of champagne.

For some reason the bottles had not been chilled so I was given a glass with some ice:

The main meal was pasta. No choice was available – I don’t know if you can pre-order something different. Catered by high end DO&CO, it looked good:

Unfortunately, the pasta had hardly been heated. I ate a bit but it was terrible. Everyone around me was still eating it, albeit weirdly slowly.

Finally, someone in Row 3 cracked and sent their meal back. I decided to follow. Oddly, none of the other passengers did, although no-one else in my line of sight ate their entire portion.

It went back in the oven and came back to me 10 minutes later. It was now slightly warmer than lukewarm. Baby food temperature. I decided it was best to keep quiet and finish it.

Despite this, don’t be put off. As you see from the picture, it wasn’t a bad meal at all. I suspect the issue was a faulty oven, because I saw how long the meal went back in for reheating and how little difference it made.

The cool bit …. TV and movies

This is where Iberia Express suddenly knocked British Airways short haul into a cocked hat. It has IFE.

A decent range of films and TV programmes can be streamed directly to your phone, laptop or other device – for free.

The snag is that no headphones are provided so you need to have brought some of your own. If that’s not an issue, you’re sorted.

TV options included Friends, Two And A Half Men, Young Sheldon and The Mentalist. Films included Barbie, Furiosa and Inception. I was impressed.

There are also podcasts, games, a childrens channel and a range of magazines, plus a moving map. All from what is, in theory, a low cast carrier. British Airways short haul passengers can only look on in dispair.

Oddly, despite all this, the aircraft did not appear to have standard wi-fi.

How to book

For cash, you can book on the dedicated Iberia Express website or on the main Iberia site.  The Iberia Express site may be cheaper but your ticket may have fewer benefits – check carefully if baggage or pre-booked seating are important.

For Avios redemptions, you can book via ba.com or Iberia Plus.  You are likely to get better availability if you use the Iberia website and transfer your points to Iberia Plus to make the booking. 

However, remember that you can only transfer into an Iberia Plus account which is 90 days old and has ‘earned’ at least 1 Avios.  Transferring 1,000 Amex Membership Rewards points to Iberia is the easiest way to do this.

What did I think of Iberia Express?

There’s nothing ‘low cost’ about the service you get with a business class ticket on Iberia Express.

Fast Track? Tick. Airport lounge? Tick. Priority boarding? Tick. Seat at the front? Tick. Empty middle seat? Tick. Free seat selection? Tick. Decent meal? Tick. IFE? Tick.

Don’t be put off by my undercooked meal, because the presentation was good and I can only assume it was an oven issue.

The only fundamental problem was the legroom in Row 1 at the bulkhead, which was noticeably less than you get with British Airways Club Europe. It was (just about) acceptable though.

Obviously if you live in London and are heading to Madrid then the sensible thing to do is target those Iberia services at Heathrow which use long-haul A350 aircraft, so you get a flat bed in business class. I will look at this service later in the week.

From Edinburgh or Manchester, Iberia Express offers a decent option to Madrid especially if you splurge for business class.

You can find out more and book for cash on the Iberia Express website here.