Most of my flights tend to be with Iberia. Overall, I think they’re a pretty reliable choice, but rarely innovative. I was curious to see whether their new A350 business class product would offer a step-up from the standard iberia business class experience. For this journey, I’d be travelling from Buenos Aires to Madrid.

Check-in & Lounge

We arrived at the airport for our Iberia A350 new business class suite flight around 3 hours before departure. Buenos Aires Ezeiza is a relatively easy to navigate airport. Providing you’re not travelling on a domestic flight, it’s also a fairly pleasant terminal. Check-in was easy. We were able to use the business class queue and interestingly, access was being controlled. A member of staff was policing the line before people were allowed to enter, and had a list of eligible passengers. Once they found your name, they were happy for you to proceed to the queue.

It probably took us no more than about 15 minutes from entering the terminal to being checked-in. Iberia have their own lounge in Ezeiza, which they share with American Airlines. To be honest, I was a little disappointed with it.

I thought because it was an airline operated lounge it’d offer a higher level of facilities. In reality, it was very basic. There was a small selection of food, and some mid-range drinks. The furniture was tired and the general ambience wasn’t great.

If you’re travelling through Ezeiza and you can access the Amex Lounge, I’d recommend this instead – it was much better.

Iberia A350 New Business Suite Cabin

This is where things get interesting. The Iberia A350 new business class suite cabin doesn’t look completely different from its predecessor. The colour scheme is more or less the same, with some minor differences. The upgrade, of course, is that it’s now ‘suite style’ and you have a closing door to give additional privacy. This is the way most airlines now seem to be going. I like the additional privacy, and think it’s a nice touch – at the same time, I’m not sure it makes a huge difference – and the seat does feel much more closed in.

As this is a new cabin, everything felt very fresh and new. I liked the faux-wood tray table. It’s a nice change from the all grey colour tone Iberia uses in its older cabins – which does feel very sterile. We chose seats 3E and 3G and I’d recommend this pair if you’re travelling as a couple. We found it to be a quiet place to sit, and we weren’t disturbed by any noise from the galley, or queues to use the bathroom. If you’re not travelling as a couple, there is a divider you can use to give complete privacy. Obviously though, I’d recommend choosing a window seat if you’re travelling solo.

The seat controls were easy to use, and I found the seat to be comfortable. I didn’t notice any difference in comfort compared to the older seat, although Iberia are now offering a topper, which does add some additional comfort. One thing I did notice is the seat does feel a little narrow and there isn’t a lot of room to move your legs when in lie-flat mode.

Iberia A350 New Business Suite Service and Amenities

Service throughout was good although not outstanding. As typical, we were offered a welcome drink of either cava, water or orange juice after boarding. Once we’d taken off, the crew started to serve pre-dinner drinks and it was all fairly efficient.

Although drinks and snacks were not frequently offered during the flight, the crew were responsive to any requests. Again, I find Iberia very reliable in this regard – while it’s rare to have a really exceptional crew, I find the service to be reliable and friendly.

The amenities onboard haven’t changed, and are the same as before. Iberia offer an amenity kit and unbranded headphones – which I don’t find particularly comfortable to use. One nice feature is the small cupboard, which is located adjacent to the seat. This was useful for storing small items during the flight. The IFE system was good – the screen was vivid and easy to navigate.

Food & Drinks

Iberia has really improved the quality of its in-flight meals over recent years. While I always thought it was good before, there has definitely been an attempt to improve the presentation and flavour profile. You can also check the menu for your flight on Iberia’s website.

I liked everything I had on this flight. I slept for a good 8 hours in the end, so I only tried the dinner. Overall I thought it was of a good quality. As always, Iberia were offering a very good wine menu. In fact, I find Iberia to offer the most reliable wine choice of any airline.

Iberia A350 New Business Suite Conclusions

We landed on time, and overall it was a good flight. I enjoyed trying out the Iberia A350 new business class suite. The cabin looks better than it did before, and slightly less sterile. This said, I still think Iberia could try and add a little more personality to their onboard environment.

Having the ‘suite’ experience definitely does make the space feel more private. This said, it does also feel a little more claustrophobic in my opinion – and I’m not completely sure I’d make an extra effort to fly in this cabin configuration instead of the older one. This said, I continue to find Iberia to be a pretty good option, especially when I’m frequently travelling to Latin America and I preferred this flight to my recent one with Aeromexico in business.