LONG DISTANCE FLYING DURING THE TIME OF COVID: NOTHING SPECIAL ABOUT THIS IBERIA FLIGHT FROM MADRID TO MIAMI

Madrid airport takes the Covid Precautions VERY seriously. I was asked about my covid documents three times and my vaccination certificate checked just before boarding. There are sanitizers galore, spread across every where in the airport. and reminders to use them.

At the Satellite terminal, there is a spacious Iberia lounge and i truly enjoyed being there. The offerings were slim, toned down for Covid. 

This is after all Spain, land of Cava rather than Champagne.. airlines serve Cava when you ask for Champagne these days. I enjoyed rice and curry with some vegies thrown in. 

Getting to the airport from the hotel, Vincci Soho was an interesting observational experience. People were polite and helpful, I certainly noticed that I was much more extroverted with the usage of the language of Cervantes..

The boarding was quick and gone are the times of drinks before departure. A huge spanish lady was assigned to my side that made me long for Qatar Airways. The service was in the American Airlines mode.. serve quickly, clear quickly and disappear for the rest of the flight. This flight crew was distinctly unfriendly. even by comparison with other Iberia crews that I have flown with.

A tired looking AirBus 330 was sitting there like an old spanish grandmother. 

The decor was non descript but clean . I had procured seat 1 J which had a very private feeling to it. But I had to wait for a very long time before the flight attendant came by with the drinks, the choices were limited. I understood that during these days it is better not to have frequent contacts but unfriendliness can show through other bodily gestures.  That set the tone, to enjoy the hard product, the seat the privacy and forget about the soft products such as service, quality of food etc. In fact the food at the Iberia Lounge was far superior to the one served on board.

The flight was timed at 8hours and 47 minutes, and I must say I did not feel very bored. There was wifi on board and that certainly was the saver, as I did not watch the movies or documentaries.

For my antipodean palate with delicate stomach prone to gastritis, this albarino was very welcome. I wish i could say the same for the food. The fight attendant said it was lamb, must have made a long trek to the plate? the dessert cake was tasty, though. 

Oh Qatar Airways, where are you ? 

As you can see, we were barely out of the continent when the slew of the flight attendants, there were lots of them, packed it in, disappeared out of sight, viola.. we were left to our own means. 

For Service , this Iberia crew get Zero out of 10, joining their one world partner,American Airlines.

As we were approaching Miami, a slight repast was provided which I did enjoy. Soon we were descending into Miami, at the promised time.

The flight was smooth, thank you Capitan! but I was in a hurry to take leave of your unfriendly crew. Not wanting to be unkind or rude, I refrained from giving the buxom lady some medical advice about Metabolism. 

Last month, I flew Iberia from New York to Miami, it was equally forgettable. The return flight was on Swiss from Zurich to Miami which was certainly delightful . this time over to Brussels from New York on United Airlines, nothing sticks in memory, no service, no good quality food or drinks, as the motto of the USA based airlines.. and ended up with this Iberia flight. So far one out of four.. that is what you can expect flying during the time of Covid.