Home > Iberia > 2005 > Review

Taken March 2005 from Geneva (Geneve-Cointrin) - GVA to Casablanca (Mohamed V) - CMN

3 European Business Class segments (Geneva-Madrid -Casablanca-Barcelona) and one in Economy (Barcelona-Paris). Business Class seating is adequate on the A 320, substandard on the MD 80s. Business catering uniformly better and bigger than many European competitors such as AF or AZ, and I found the staff's attitude far nicer than some horrific descriptions in earlier reviews. It ran from competently indifferent to genuinely friendly.

On the BCN-ORY sector in coach, there was a security incident (one young woman running off the plane just as the door was going to be closed and disappearing into the terminal). This prompted a plane search, disembarking all passengers and having them recognize their checked luggage before it was loaded back, an operation handled with much confusion, shouting of orders and counter-orders, and apparent lack of coordination between the crew, the ground staff and the airport police. An unavoidable delay of 1 hour therefore became 2 hours, but what needed to be checked safety-wise was eventually done.

As to the "Tu Menu" paying food option, I'll take it anytime over Air France's inedible free sandwiches which remind one of the old Aeroflot.

Altogether, Iberia is clearly neither Singapore AL nor Cathay Pacific, but there are far worse carriers operating in Europe.