Obnoxious staff, sub-par service at best
Written: Jun 23 '03
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Pros: OK European service, palatable food.
Cons: Unfriendly staff, nonexistent customer service, cramped seats.
The Bottom Line: If there was ever an award to the company that provides the worst treatment to passengers and whose staff is most obnoxious, Iberia would win it hands-off.
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| Raf_K's Full Review: Iberia |
Last February I went to Cuba with two friends. I flew in from London while they came from Geneva: we’d meet up in Madrid airport and take the same flight to Havana.
I had read many negative comments on Iberia’s service, but for a number of reasons still opted to fly with them. First, only two airlines offer scheduled service between Europe and Cuba: Air France and Iberia. Air France is a great airline, but unfortunately not dependable since they tend to go on strike at least once every year, and these can sometimes last well over a week. Second, as a member of Swiss Travelclub FF program I could earn miles on Iberia flights. And third, they offered the best price on this particular route. Later I found that their economy-class flights can only earn you a third of the actual mileage flown, so hardly a convincing perk.
OVERVIEW
Iberia specializes in flights between Spain and Latin America. In that respect, Iberia flies an overwhelming number of flights to that continent, far outnumbering its closest competitor. Due to strong cultural ties Iberia has flies to most Spanish-speaking countries in Central and South America.
Their fleet consists of a mix of older Boeing models (DC9, 757, 747) and Airbus planes (A320, A340). Eventually they will have an all-Airbus fleet since they’ve recently signed a contract to replace all of their 747 models with A340-600s.
RESERVATIONS
I have purchased my tickets through a travel agent since their website would quote an exorbitant fare. Providing you’re happy with the fare you’ve found, you may book flights on their website, which has an AMADEUS-supported reservation system. Their website is fairly easy to navigate.
Iberia is one of those airlines which seem to be compelled to treat you especially poorly when you dare to fly on a low restricted fare. After buying my tickets I have called their reservation center in order to book seats - so that I could be sure to seat next to my friends – only to find out that they don’t do seat bookings even on intercontinental routes.
SERVICE
The first leg of my trip consisted in a 2.5 hour-long flight from London Heathrow to Madrid Barajas. There was virtually no queue at the Iberia desk so the check-in was smooth. I had specifically asked asked to be seated near the front of the plane, and it seemed like a joke when my boarding pass stated 44A! I was told that was the only window seat available. Boarding was 45 minutes behind schedule, due to the late arrival of the aircraft. This is quite common in Europe, so I wasn’t particularly surprised.
On boarding the aircraft I was annoyed to find out that the plane was only about 30% full and there were many window seats available right by the front… I just didn’t bother making a fuss for a somewhat short flight.
The 757 aircraft was clean and had nice leather seats which seemed perhaps a little wider than usual. Headphones were handed but the movie selection was simply awful: a short Spanish movie which seemed to have started halfway through! The food was surprisingly tasty, although I can’t precisely recall what it was: some Spanish-style chicken.
Up until then I was pleasantly surprised. But this was soon to change. When I arrived in Madrid I met up with my friends, and we headed for the information desk to try and have 3 seats assigned next to each other. We were told that we couldn’t change and the aircraft was full. When we boarded, surprise: the aircraft was only about 70% full, which meant that we managed to secure seats together.
The aircraft was a big change from my previous flight. This was probably a 20-year old 747-200. Overhead storage space was virtually nonexistent: I’m dead-serious when I say that each overhead bin could store no more than 2 small daypacks. I felt really sorry for those sporting those bulky roll-on hand luggages. Seating space was minimal, and the whole interior looked very tired indeed.
There was only one large screen for each of the two sections of coach. No newspapers were offered on the flight. But perhaps the most striking feature on this flight (and indeed, the remaining flights) was the flight attendants’ attitude. They all had a blasé look on their faces and some were downright nasty. When the food cart came, we were shoved a tray of pasta in front of us. Only to find out that they were actually offering a choice of chicken or pasta to the row behind us! After serving us with dinner, cabin crew retreated to the galley. Unless you went to the galley to specifically request for something, cabin crew showed no further signs of life. About an hour prior to landing we were served a strange snack consisting of ham and chick peas.
The movie selection was again, very poor indeed. An obscure Spanish movie was playing, followed by some sort of stupid romantic comedy. The audio channels were no better, and at times there were long silences(more than 2 hours) in the channels.
The cabin crew were simply oblivious to any passenger requests, no matter how simple. Only one announcement was ever made: the security briefing. The PA system remained silent for the rest of the flight! No details on the route, flight duration were ever given! Following departure, the navigation screen showed that we would arrive in Havana one hour ahead of schedule. However, towards the end of the flight, it showed a 2-hour delay! This proved to be true, but not a hint of explanation was given as to why we ended up being delayed!
The return flights were much the same: being completely ignored by cabin crew in most of the 8-hour flight is not so pleasant, especially when all you ask for is a glass of water.
CUSTOMER SERVICE (OR LACK THEREOF)
Once in Cuba I had to cut my trip short by about 4 days because of a minor emergency at home. As I was in Trinidad and the only Iberia office in Cuba is in Havana, I phoned them to see if it was possible to change for my flight. I was fully aware that I would have to pay a penalty and was told so by the agent on the phone. I was also told that the only available flight was the following evening. The agent also told me that since he needed a reply from London, he would tell me how much the penalty was the next day when I’d come in to change my ticket. I thought this was strange: don’t reservation systems tell agents how much the penalty is, no matter where the ticket has been bought? I’m pretty sure so, because I’ve changed my travel plans many times in different parts of the world and was always immediately told what the penalty – if applicable – would be.
As it was late afternoon by then, I had to act quickly, and get a bus the next morning for the 5-hour ride back to Havana, change my ticket and run to the airport. Once I got to the Iberia ticket office I found out the absurd. I couldn’t travel because they still didn’t know what my penalty was! London needed a to know my fare code in order to know what the applicable penalty was. Goddammit, I thought, couldn’t they see what it was since they had my reservation code and all relevant details? Of course, with the time difference, their London office would now be closed, which meant I could only get an answer the next day. I can understand that Cuba may be far behind as far as network integration goes, but this is unacceptable for a major European office in London! I have offered to pay a high (something like 300 USD) penalty on my credit card and get them to refund the difference once they got the reply the next day, but to no avail. While I was arguing with the unhelpful staff in came a guy who was on the same flight from London as I was: he wanted to leave a few days early, in about a week’s time. The staff told him the only available flight was the one leaving that very evening, and he was quite annoyed to find that out, but he had to settle for that. Guess what, his ticket was changed instantly!
So here you have a guy who wants to leave ASAP, but who can’t and a guy who doesn’t want to leave so soon but who HAS to! Finally, the staff were inflexible and booked me on the next day flight – well, I thought there were no seats available! The following day I went to the office and found out that my penalty was a measly U$ 50! For that meager a sum I found myself stranded in Havana for 24 hours; I couldn’t believe it! When I came in to pick up my ticket I noticed something that I had already noticed the time before: every single person being attended by the staff at that office had some sort of problem and ended up getting irritated with the staff’s incompetence and lack of helpfulness. In some cases the staff members were even raising the voice at the clients!
This horrible lack of consideration, coupled with their already below-average service means that I won’t be flying Iberia anytime soon. Unless you feel like being treated poorly I can see no reason for choosing Iberia, unless they own a monopoly on the route you’re wishing to fly, as was more or less my case.
Recommended:
No
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Epinions.com ID:
Raf_K
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Member: Rafael K
Location: London, UK
Reviews written: 101
Trusted by: 49 members
About Me:
Back after a long work-inflicted absence.
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