The terminal for this flight, 4S, was INSANE. So many Iberia desks, and it wasn't clear which ones were for which destinations. When I checked in, I asked if I could check my bags to LAX, my final destination, but was told no because my next flight was with another company--I would have to gather my luggage and then deposit it again in London. Annoying, but okay. Then I went through Security, where I was asked to open my luggage, berated for having water (which I offered to throw out), and just generally hazed. After Security, I went up and down countless escalators and then boarded a tram, which literally went miles. Following the tram, there was ANOTHER escalator and ANOTHER line, this time for passport control. At 10:25, I told officials there that I was on a 10:40 flight, but nobody seemed concerned. So after clearing passport control, I RAN all the way to the gate, where my boarding pass was scanned, and then ran along the gangplank. At this point, I expected to board a plane, but what I encountered was a STAIRWELL, with steep stairs leading downward. Astoundingly, I didn't see any elevators or escalators. I lugged a suitcase, large bag and jacket down three to four flights of stairs, expecting to board an aircraft at the end, only to encounter a bus outside. After all the hoops we passengers had just jumped through, I was floored by this. And because the bus driver was waiting for other confirmed passengers, the rest of us were standing on the bus for at least ten to 15 minutes. Once the bus FINALLY set off and then dropped us at the plane, which was sitting way out on the tarmac, we all had to cart our luggage and bags up ANOTHER steep set of stairs onto the plane. In 100-degree heat. Parched from the physical marathon I had just endured, I was thinking that once we were in the air, the flight attendants would pass out water. Instead, they went down the aisle asking if anyone wanted to order and pay for a drink, but they never asked me or many others if we wanted anything—they picked and chose passengers to ask. I raised my arm to try to get their attention, as I was desperate for some water, but they were avoiding almost all eye contact with the passengers. So I arrived in London completely dehydrated. Then I went to baggage claim. After waiting for about 20 to 30 minutes for my bags and not seeing anything that resembled mine, I started looking at my phone. That's when I saw an email from Iberia saying that there had been an incident with my luggage, and that my luggage had not made the flight, even though I had done the Madrid baggage drop in good time. Also, if I hadn’t checked my email, I don’t know how I would have found out that my luggage was missing, because there weren’t any reps at baggage claim. When I spoke to the Iberia representative about it, she said that the luggage would be arriving on another Iberia flight at 3:00 p.m. that day, but I was scheduled on a Virgin Atlantic flight departing London at 3:45, so picking up my luggage at 3:00 p.m. and rechecking it wouldn't be an option. After everything that had already happened that day, this was really disappointing. I didn't see my luggage again for two days. Honestly, it was just such a bad overall experience that I can't imagine flying Iberia again. And it was surprising, because earlier in the trip, I had been on the Renfe high-speed train from Barcelona to Madrid, which was a really good experience, so I had high expectations for Iberia. This could have been an aberration, but since it has been my only experience with Iberia, it is my only reference point.
The terminal for this flight, 4S, was INSANE. So many Iberia desks, and it wasn't clear which ones were for which destinations. When I checked in, I asked if I could check my bags to LAX, my final destination, but was told no because my next flight was with another company--I would have to gather my luggage and then deposit it again in London. Annoying, but okay. Then I went through Security, where I was asked to open my luggage, berated for having water (which I offered to throw out), and just generally hazed. After Security, I went up and down countless escalators and then boarded a tram, which literally went miles. Following the tram, there was ANOTHER escalator and ANOTHER line, this time for passport control. At 10:25, I told officials there that I was on a 10:40 flight, but nobody seemed concerned. So after clearing passport control, I RAN all the way to the gate, where my boarding pass was scanned, and then ran along the gangplank. At this point, I expected to board a plane, but what I encountered was a STAIRWELL, with steep stairs leading downward. Astoundingly, I didn't see any elevators or escalators. I lugged a suitcase, large bag and jacket down three to four flights of stairs, expecting to board an aircraft at the end, only to encounter a bus outside. After all the hoops we passengers had just jumped through, I was floored by this. And because the bus driver was waiting for other confirmed passengers, the rest of us were standing on the bus for at least ten to 15 minutes. Once the bus FINALLY set off and then dropped us at the plane, which was sitting way out on the tarmac, we all had to cart our luggage and bags up ANOTHER steep set of stairs onto the plane. In 100-degree heat. Parched from the physical marathon I had just endured, I was thinking that once we were in the air, the flight attendants would pass out water. Instead, they went down the aisle asking if anyone wanted to order and pay for a drink, but they never asked me or many others if we wanted anything—they picked and chose passengers to ask. I raised my arm to try to get their attention, as I was desperate for some water, but they were avoiding almost all eye contact with the passengers. So I arrived in London completely dehydrated. Then I went to baggage claim. After waiting for about 20 to 30 minutes for my bags and not seeing anything that resembled mine, I started looking at my phone. That's when I saw an email from Iberia saying that there had been an incident with my luggage, and that my luggage had not made the flight, even though I had done the Madrid baggage drop in good time. Also, if I hadn’t checked my email, I don’t know how I would have found out that my luggage was missing, because there weren’t any reps at baggage claim. When I spoke to the Iberia representative about it, she said that the luggage would be arriving on another Iberia flight at 3:00 p.m. that day, but I was scheduled on a Virgin Atlantic flight departing London at 3:45, so picking up my luggage at 3:00 p.m. and rechecking it wouldn't be an option. After everything that had already happened that day, this was really disappointing. I didn't see my luggage again for two days. Honestly, it was just such a bad overall experience that I can't imagine flying Iberia again. And it was surprising, because earlier in the trip, I had been on the Renfe high-speed train from Barcelona to Madrid, which was a really good experience, so I had high expectations for Iberia. This could have been an aberration, but since it has been my only experience with Iberia, it is my only reference point.
Was downgraded from Premium Economy to Economy and no indication of any compensation.
Flight was delayed by 7 hours and it caused all kind of issues
My bag is still in Munich. There was no communication and then a long line at customer service. I waited for my bag, missing all my trains and had to take a £130 taxi to get home by 2 am.
Crew could not even try to accommodate my food request. Phone Charging USB thing was not working.
we departed 5 hours late. Instead of 10pm it was after 2AM and the business lounge thew us out at 1AM and everyone was standing around the boarding gates. When we did board, the crew was nice, served dinner and then was not to be seen again until we landed. No breakfast (which is not great for diabetes)
Horrendous, the worst ever. I would not fly with them again
Horrible experience, flight was delayed for 3 hours due to insufficient crew and tray was broken. Seats were extra tight for international flight and food was horrible
Flights were actually with Aer Lingus outward and American Airlines & Aer Lingus on the return journey. Outward flight with Aer Lingus was good but the return flight with them was not so good as our seats were in a poor condition (15A & 15C) and looked like they needed replacing! The American Airlines flight from Miami to JFK New York was good and the seats were very comfortable and spacious (32D & 32E)
My worst flying experience so far. This flight was delayed a total of 42 hours and diverted to New York before it was finally cancelled. It was delayed 4 and a half hours in London. As we were scanning our boarding passes at the gate they advised that the flight was being diverted to JFK since the delays caused us to missed the open hours for Charlotte international customs and immigration. We were assured multiple times by airport personnel, flight attendants, and the Pilot that we would land at JFK go through customs and immigration and then reboard the plane to fly to Charlotte in the same night. When we landed in New York the pilot advised us as we were retrieving our carry on luggage that we were delayed till 10am the next morning and to see guest services to get a room for the night. During this time I had to purchase a room for a family member in Charlotte which drove over 4 and a half hours to pick us up from Charlotte. This could have been avoided if American Airlines had been up front about the delay. Then after standing in line for over 2 and a half hours at guest services we were taken by taxi to a hotel 30 minutes out of the way. Luckily I looked for other flights that night and found one at 8 am to get on. The initial flight which we were scheduled to fly to charlotte in was delayed 12 more times and was finally cancelled 42 hours after it was supposed to land. I am unaware of what happened to the guest that were supposed to fly on the flight after we were placed on another flight but 42 hours in delays for a direct flight is absolutely ridiculous.