BA 2-4-1 – Iberia Airlines – South/Central America

[tflights]

Hi All,

Appreciate your help in advance. I am hoping to fly business class to somewhere in south or central America this October using the BA 2-4-1 voucher.

What is the best way to search for availability with partner airlines such as Iberia?
is there another version of seatspy, that maybe offers alternative airlines, qatar Airways and Iberia would be perfect?

[NorthernLass]

Have a look through the recent 241/BA/IB threads, there is at least one really long one with lots of discussion on this very topic!

[tflights]

Thanks a lot! will have a look now

[zapato1060]

search on AA.com. business, non stop then use the calendar, its brilliant. search for 1x passenger firstly. then use that info on BA or IB. But ultimately when fully ready to book you do so on BA with 241.

[jumpfrog]

I booked LHR-LIM via MAD for 162,500 Avios plus £1050 on the 2-4-1 in May travelling in August on Iberia in J. I think it was a fair deal as economy fares in August to Peru can reach £1500 per person. We are very excited about seeing Macchu Picchu and the Nazca lines etc. We did also think about Havana but could not get the system to book from LHR, only from Madrid. Probably could have done it by calling up. FYI if you want to search for Havana you must type in HAV and then search. It will not open up in the drop down menus like it normally does.

[David D]

@Jumpfrog: You should take a look at booking MAD – LIM flying Iberia (and booking a separate easy Jet from LHR – MAD) instead of starting from LHR. A quick search on BA.com using 241 shows this is much cheaper as starting in MAD avoids UK charges – see dummy booking below – this is for Off peak April 2024 so not matching your dates but Peak return is I believe 125k avios instead of the 85k (option 1 below):

Dummy booking:
Offpeak
Madrid to Lima Peru
11 to 29 April 2024
Business return x 2 people

Avios required Cost taxes/charges
1 85,000 428.40
2 72,300 728.40
3 55,300 1,068.40
4 42,500 1,408.40
5 29,800 1,748.40
6 17,000 2,088.40

This means for 85k Avios and £428.40 in total you would get 2x bus class return flights. Much cheaper than 162k + £1050.

[zapato1060]

jumpfrog wrote:

I booked LHR-LIM via MAD for 162,500 Avios plus £1050 on the 2-4-1 in May travelling in August on Iberia in J. I think it was a fair deal as economy fares in August to Peru can reach £1500 per person. We are very excited about seeing Macchu Picchu and the Nazca lines etc. We did also think about Havana but could not get the system to book from LHR, only from Madrid. Probably could have done it by calling up. FYI if you want to search for Havana you must type in HAV and then search. It will not open up in the drop down menus like it normally does.

Exactly what @David D, said. It’s only 85k from MAD-LIM and £400 all in using 241. I would consider cancelling your entire itinerary as £60 charge will be covered by the 2x as you’ve paid nearly £600 more in taxes than you should have and a boat load more in Avios.

[zapato1060]

I would LOVE to go Cuba but ESTA situation is a pain in the proverbial.

[PeteM]

zapato1060 wrote:

I would consider cancelling your entire itinerary as £60 charge will be covered by the 2x as you’ve paid nearly £600 more in taxes than you should have and a boat load more in Avios.

Just bear in mind that a lot of people value the certainty that a through itinerary brings. Some of us are happy to take the missed connection risk at MAD or indeed have a few days in MAD between flights, but that also introduces further cost.

[yonasl]

I think that if @jumpfrog is happy with what he paid, the risk of losing all the bookings by cancelling is just too high. You live and learn …

But as others have said, splitting the trip into a LHR-MAD followed by your trip to SA can be quite a headache too (and well worth the £600 for some).

[jumpfrog]

My trip isn’t off peak so I didn’t get those numbers when I searched for the August dates. However, yes it is cheaper from Madrid but the only economy flights I could find in August from anywhere in London to MAD including baggage was at least £500 on the day we need to go. Then there is the headache of trying to sort out a problem if the morning flight to MAD is cancelled. Then you have to consider whether to fly the night before is needed in case there is a problem which adds to the cost. I had a 7:55 flight LHR-TLS booked last week and on the way to the airport it was cancelled and I was put on an 20:40 flight. If I had a connection on a separate booking I would have been screwed. When you put it all on one booking from London you have the peace of mind although yes at other times of the year it could be a lot cheaper to split the booking.

David D wrote:

@Jumpfrog: You should take a look at booking MAD – LIM flying Iberia (and booking a separate easy Jet from LHR – MAD) instead of starting from LHR. A quick search on BA.com using 241 shows this is much cheaper as starting in MAD avoids UK charges – see dummy booking below – this is for Off peak April 2024 so not matching your dates but Peak return is I believe 125k avios instead of the 85k (option 1 below):

Dummy booking:
Offpeak
Madrid to Lima Peru
11 to 29 April 2024
Business return x 2 people

Avios required Cost taxes/charges
1 85,000 428.40
2 72,300 728.40
3 55,300 1,068.40
4 42,500 1,408.40
5 29,800 1,748.40
6 17,000 2,088.40

This means for 85k Avios and £428.40 in total you would get 2x bus class return flights. Much cheaper than 162k + £1050.

[meta]

yonasl wrote:

I think that if @jumpfrog is happy with what he paid, the risk of losing all the bookings by cancelling is just too high. You live and learn …

But as others have said, splitting the trip into a LHR-MAD followed by your trip to SA can be quite a headache too (and well worth the £600 for some).

More like £800 (if you count extra Avios).

In any case, having a through ticket doesn’t mean much as you could still miss the connection and then the notoriously bad Iberia customer service will wreck your holiday, especially with very few flights a day to Lima. I’d much prefer to fly the evening before and leave enough time between flights on the way back.

[zapato1060]

meta wrote:

yonasl wrote:

I think that if @jumpfrog is happy with what he paid, the risk of losing all the bookings by cancelling is just too high. You live and learn …

But as others have said, splitting the trip into a LHR-MAD followed by your trip to SA can be quite a headache too (and well worth the £600 for some).

More like £800 (if you count extra Avios).

In any case, having a through ticket doesn’t mean much as you could still miss the connection and then the notoriously bad Iberia customer service will wreck your holiday, especially with very few flights a day to Lima. I’d much prefer to fly the evening before and leave enough time between flights on the way back.

That’s what we are doing MAD-BOG. Night before.

[Bill_B]

jumpfrog wrote:

My trip isn’t off peak so I didn’t get those numbers when I searched for the August dates. However, yes it is cheaper from Madrid but the only economy flights I could find in August from anywhere in London to MAD including baggage was at least £500 on the day we need to go. Then there is the headache of trying to sort out a problem if the morning flight to MAD is cancelled. Then you have to consider whether to fly the night before is needed in case there is a problem which adds to the cost. I had a 7:55 flight LHR-TLS booked last week and on the way to the airport it was cancelled and I was put on an 20:40 flight. If I had a connection on a separate booking I would have been screwed. When you put it all on one booking from London you have the peace of mind although yes at other times of the year it could be a lot cheaper to split the booking.

Last time I checked it was still much more cost effective to fly from Madrid on the outward flight, and fly back to London on the return flight. Then you only need a 1 way cash flight on Iberia which are <£150 and you can book a cheap airport hotel and travel the day before for extra security.

[Ash]

@bill_b we are aiming to South America in 2024…so the 241 let’s you have outbound starting in Madrid but the return leg terminating in LHR (via MAD)?

Something to do with the distance between the two not being greater than something or other?

[yonasl]

Ash wrote:

@bill_b we are aiming to South America in 2024…so the 241 let’s you have outbound starting in Madrid but the return leg terminating in LHR (via MAD)?

Something to do with the distance between the two not being greater than something or other?

You can book MAD-Somewhere / Somewhere-MAD-LHR in one go but need to do it over the phone (or do the outbound, then the inboud and then call to have them put together and return avios of the inbound).

[Ash]

How is the Iberia business class from Madrid? – specifically Mexico if anyone has flown that route.

The YouTube reviews for Iberia business, in general, are average to quite poor… particularly the on boards staff’s customer service skills. The food looked poor as well, but that may have been a review during COVID, and flying Santa Domingo to Madrid.

All in all, they haven’t instilled me with confidence.

[JDB]

Ash wrote:

How is the Iberia business class from Madrid? – specifically Mexico if anyone has flown that route.

The YouTube reviews for Iberia business, in general, are average to quite poor… particularly the on boards staff’s customer service skills. The food looked poor as well, but that may have been a review during COVID, and flying Santa Domingo to Madrid.

All in all, they haven’t instilled me with confidence.

My son has in recent months flown IB business to/from MEX, MVD and EZE and says the experience is very variable and crew dependent, but on average it’s rather better than BA. The food is quite a bit better, not sure re wine as he doesn’t drink, but others say it’s also better than BA, albeit that is a very low threshold. Some complain they serve cava rather than champagne, but that seems a bit of an affectation.

MEX with IB has the advantage of a choice of three daily flights, all on A350 so may have new seat. The midnight departure from MAD arrives at a rather brutal time (vs BA from London) but does minimise time needed off work and allows for plenty of domestic connection opportunities. Unlike the South American routes, MAD to MEX is slightly further than from LHR so journey time is quite a bit longer.

PS – if anything goes wrong on your journey and/or you want to claim EC261 you’re fairly stuffed!

[yonasl]

Wine and food are very good in IB and have a strong Spanish influence obviously. So if you want a curry you will be disappointed.

Problem with IB tends to be:
– crew can be excellent or they just don’t care
– last time I flew with them, no mid flight snacks (just crisps and chocolates)
– cannot really guarantee the seat with a door (if you are after that)

[Londonsteve]

@JDB why are you stuffed for EC261 if you fly IB on either leg? I’d have thought that as an EU carrier departing from, or returning to an EU airport then EC261 regs apply in the event of a problem?

[JDB]

Londonsteve wrote:

@JDB why are you stuffed for EC261 if you fly IB on either leg? I’d have thought that as an EU carrier departing from, or returning to an EU airport then EC261 regs apply in the event of a problem?

The EU regs do of course apply, but they systematically deny them, even for open and shut cases. Iberia is also the only major European airline not to participate in any ADR scheme so you have to go to MCOL and of course you can’t do that if you are on separate tickets originating in Madrid (although you can for the return flights if your ticket ends in the UK). If you can take them to MCOL, you need to be prepared for an extremely aggressive response, lots of attempts to have your claim dismissed on various procedural grounds and complex arguments against your claim.

[PeteM]

JDB wrote:

The EU regs do of course apply, but they systematically deny them, even for open and shut cases. Iberia is also the only major European airline not to participate in any ADR scheme so you have to go to MCOL and of course you can’t do that if you are on separate tickets originating in Madrid (although you can for the return flights if your ticket ends in the UK). If you can take them to MCOL, you need to be prepared for an extremely aggressive response, lots of attempts to have your claim dismissed on various procedural grounds and complex arguments against your claim.

And, of course, god forbid you need to cancel and want your Avios back. Numerous threads on here as to how painful that is.

[e14]

PeteM wrote:

JDB wrote:

The EU regs do of course apply, but they systematically deny them, even for open and shut cases. Iberia is also the only major European airline not to participate in any ADR scheme so you have to go to MCOL and of course you can’t do that if you are on separate tickets originating in Madrid (although you can for the return flights if your ticket ends in the UK). If you can take them to MCOL, you need to be prepared for an extremely aggressive response, lots of attempts to have your claim dismissed on various procedural grounds and complex arguments against your claim.

And, of course, god forbid you need to cancel and want your Avios back. Numerous threads on here as to how painful that is.

Not if you book through BA though

[JDB]

e14 wrote:

PeteM wrote:

JDB wrote:

The EU regs do of course apply, but they systematically deny them, even for open and shut cases. Iberia is also the only major European airline not to participate in any ADR scheme so you have to go to MCOL and of course you can’t do that if you are on separate tickets originating in Madrid (although you can for the return flights if your ticket ends in the UK). If you can take them to MCOL, you need to be prepared for an extremely aggressive response, lots of attempts to have your claim dismissed on various procedural grounds and complex arguments against your claim.

And, of course, god forbid you need to cancel and want your Avios back. Numerous threads on here as to how painful that is.

Not if you book through BA though

You may get a refund, but booking through BA doesn’t alter the need to go to Iberia as the operator for any EC261 claim for cancellation, delay or downgrade. Booking via BA does not make Iberia flights eligible under UK261 unless they are to/from the UK.

[meta]

To enforce your EC261 or UK equivalent rights you have to take the operating airline to court that is Iberia, not BA. That’s clear from the regulation.