Front desk was closed at 6 pm, I was unable to get my boarding pass and as such missed my connecting flight home.
The seats were way too crowded. Just because I do not have the luxury of a suite, does not mean that I want to fly from Austin to London scrunched between two people and the seat in front of me in my face. Ridiculous. I should have flown with Turkish Airlines...
Very good service from San Jose to Madrid . Ryanair service from Madrid to Brussels 😕
We upgraded to Business class paying approx. $1,300. Despite the upgrade, we were still required to pay an additional €70 for a checked bag. Furthermore, we were informed that another €70 would have been charged for our carry-on bag, as it was 3kg over the limit. To avoid this, we had to move clothing from the carry-on into the checked bag, which was both inconvenient and frustrating. Given the significant amount paid for the Business Class upgrade, we found this treatment to be quite appalling and disappointing. We expected a higher level of service and consideration for our luggage, and this experience did not meet those expectations.
The airline refused to board me because I showed up only 50 minutes prior to departure time, despite the fact that shortly before that, when I arrived at the airport still in time, they changed the terminal and I had to take a bus that took 20 minutes. Personal at the airport was unable to let me in, customer care was beyond useless, the original airline operator (Iberia) was as useless as a toilet paper roll core in time of a wipe and all this uselessness made me waste my ticket, my reservations, my long time parking, food and most of all the joy of being with my family for the new year after working my bottom off even at Christmas. Am I happy? Come and ask me in person!
Overall a great. However, the seating is way too narrow, for guys with any shoulder width. Luckily the crew moved the guy next to me, or it would have been miserable.
When having a connection at Madrid, it’s extremely confusing. You must travel from your arrival gate, all the way down stairs to a security check point, go up stairs, then downstairs to another security check. Then make your way to your gate. All the while traveling through a “mall” inside the airport which makes it difficult. 10/10 don’t recommend connecting flights through Madrid.
The connection required us to travel from terminal A to terminal E with very little time in between flights. While waiting in line, we were called to the service desk to provide our passports. We provided our passports at time of check in, assuming that American Airlines doesn’t communicate well with Iberia, this was a headache.
The flight staff was excellent, one of the best I've had. Food and wine was very good and seats very comfortable. Luggage came out pretty quickly too considering the number of passengers. Also, excellent internet. The only thing that could have been improved on was the choice of movies -- kind of limited and not great selections.
The plane was not well maintained. The entertainment system didn’t work properly, eg moving map. Many of the seat controls did not work. Cabin temperature fluctuated considerably during the flight. The seat allocated was poor, it was noisy and offered no privacy. The perfume in the toilet triggered severe allergies. Crew was very goid.
