Spanish airline — and Qantas oneworld alliance partner — Iberia is offering a new business class on board, a fully flat model with direct aisle access that's popular with frequent flyers.
The new Business Plus seat is installed on the airline's newest Airbus A330 aircraft, and will be retrofitted to the Airbus A340-600 fleet. Eight of the new jets will join the airline between now and March 2014.
For business travellers, a better seat will move Iberia — which previously had a fairly mediocre business class with a seat that only just went flat — from the "avoid" to the "seek out" column when connecting between Europe and Africa or Latin America.
Australians will be familiar with Iberia's staggered layout Sogerma Solstys seat from Etihad's flights to Abu Dhabi — and we've reviewed it on the long haul back to Sydney.
A customised similar model is found on board Emirates' A380, and is popular thanks to the lack of the "midnight clamber", where window or middle seat passengers have to bound like a gazelle (or hippo) over their slumbering aisle neighbours.
Iberia is also offering a 15.4 inch touch screen for entertainment, plus a library of modern on-demand movies, TV shows, music and games.
Our pick: always go for the window seats when travelling solo. There's more privacy and you're tucked away from light and the possibility of being bumped by people (or carts) in the aisle.
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About John Walton
Aviation journalist and travel columnist John took his first long-haul flight when he was eight weeks old and hasn't looked back since. Well, except when facing rearwards in business class.
1 on 14/2/13 by KG