Iberia
This was our first experience of flying with Iberia. We chose the airline as their schedule best suited our needs.
We had hoped that for our transit time, we would enjoy glasses of Cava on the way to our departure gate. I was looking forward to it.
This is what happened…
The flight was about an hour late leaving Rome. We finally arrived at Madrid, late. We looked everywhere for Iberia staff at Customer Services. There were no staff there at all. No one.
After some time I found one member of Iberia staff at another departure gate. She was busy scrolling on her mobile phone. I asked her for help. She looked up, said “no” and went back to her cell phone!
As we proceeded through the terminal, we finally found departures screens and saw that our flight to Heathrow and closed. We took the connection to S gates, hoping to get on the next flight to LHR.
The two women at the gate there, boarding a 16.20 flight to LHR, told us to go to Customer Services (near gate 39)
When we got there we found a long line of people who had also missed fights and one member of customer service staff. A long wait began. Eventually we were seen and told that the next available flight was the following morning. She would make arrangements for overnight accommodation and transfers.
Iberia booked a mini bus, one mini bus for about 80 people, all without flights, now camped out on the street. The driver arrived three times while we waited. Each time he would take 8 people. ‘Capacity’.
We waited at Madrid airport for 3 hours in total, at Customer Services and for the shuttle bus. Iberia finally got a coach for everyone which arrived just before 7 pm. We were all taken to the airport ‘suites’ which felt more like a hostel than a hotel. There was a buffet dinner. We ate something, then retreated to our rooms.
In over 45 years of air travel I have never missed a connecting flight until that day.
What an awful experience.
The next day we have to be ready for 05.30, to be taken back to the airport on a coach, for the 07.40 flight to London Heathrow.
No one said “hola” to us that morning; not the hotel staff, not the driver, nor any member of Iberia staff at the airport.
This was the first “hola” of the day, from the screen at my seat on the plane!